Asterisk Winter
by Cryocene
Summary: Ever since the disaster that mankind called Invertia, the world and its inhabitants had changed. The children born after the Invertia were blessed with miraculous abilities that mankind only ever heard in stories, but as power graced the young generation, the world was forced to change. And as the world grew colder, so did the hearts of the humans who lived in it. (MAIN FIC)
1. Act 1, Chapter 1

Kirika watched as it finally began to fall.

Under the gloomy skies of winter, the lack of morning warmth and brightness which should be bathing the world was suffocating.

The gloom and doom made the falling white pinpricks from above the skies seem dim and dull, instead of reflective and beautiful.

Even so, the sight of the snowfall made her smile from the bottom of her heart.

 _Finally. It's the beginning of a cold, cold winter._

The winds had been strong and mischievous, singing out cacophonies whenever it passed by. The temperatures were similarly chilling, most normal humans would not go outside without layers of extra clothing.

Before she arrived to this place - [Seidoukan Academy] - she had purposefully arranged the transportation to arrive earlier than the scheduled meeting with the student council president, specifically to enjoy the scenery of a city bathed by the winter snow.

It turned to be nothing but disappointment, since snow wasn't falling. That stripped away her desire to walk around the district within Seidoukan's territory to make herself more familiar with its landscapes. So she cut her losses and walked to the school grounds.

Contacting the school to push forward her meeting with the student council president crossed her mind, but she decided against it. Instead, she strolled the school grounds to kill her time. Hopefully, it would quell her disappointment.

Her hope was answered, and her expectations were beautifully met this time. The academy was so large, and it contained various facilities that normal schools wouldn't ever have - including gardens, parks, and even a large lake.

Looking at the scenery so abundantly flavored with nature's grace, it was difficult to believe that the whole city, including this school ground, was built on an artificial island.

[War Academy City Asterisk] - one of the most-well known artificial islands of its kind, actually. She supposed this part of the city lived up to its reputation, at least.

If it was a place like this, then she didn't mind getting lost. As long as she followed the stone footpath, she could find her way back anyway.

She was busy admiring the school facilities until her thoughts were interrupted by a small, wet little thing hitting her nose.

An event that brightened her whole day - the snow fell after all.

"Thank goodness… hmm?"

Something caught her eye as she gazed up to the sky.

Among the white pinpricks, something, that was similarly small and white, was flying on a direction that seemed to follow the snow. For an instant, it looked like a feather made out of snow - but it was just a handkerchief.

Considering the speed of which it flew, it was probably stolen by the wind, but how come it reached such a high altitude? It was probably flying higher than the height of a three-story house...

Still, she supposed it didn't matter. It was only a momentary distraction to shrug off. Most likely someone had discarded it from a high-altitude location, probably from a tall building.

If it was discarded from such a place, it was reasonable to assume the owner didn't care where it would fly off to. Thus, it was not her problem to care about.

"Ahh!"

Kirika snapped her neck to the direction of the voice.

The voice itself was quite lovely and feminine. But the tone it had was panicked, and clearly out of its depth.

Alert had overtaken her by that point, and by pure instinct she turned her gaze into her surroundings.

There were trees lined up to her right, the direction the handkerchief was blown to. It was a small forest which served as a border.

On the other side there was an intricately designed fence dyed in white, which was a meter and a half away from the footpath she was on.

Behind the fence, there was a large building with red walls and large windows - one of which, in the fourth story, was open and covered with curtains.

 _So it flew out from there._

"Of all the things that could happen, why at a time like this!"

The voice from before was heard again from the other side of the curtain, this time filled with urgency. Her suspicion was right, time to formulate a task-

"Anyway, I'd better go after it before it flies far away!"

That confirmed her mission. Kirika turned around and jumped high, landing over one of the large tree branches on the right side of the footpath.

It was something that normal humans couldn't do, and she would normally avoid displaying her physical abilities like this - but this was urgent.

 _That person needs help._

Right after she landed her feet on the branch, Kirika followed that with an even stronger jump, breaking the branch she was on, onto another tree branch. She then made another powerful jump, breaking another branch and another, and another.

Kirika felt sorry for the trees, but she had to follow the handkerchief and leave a clue for the owner. Today was a very windy day, and the chilling gusts of wind were also strong. That handkerchief would fly away very quickly, and far away.

With that in mind, she steeled her mind and quickened her pace.

Jumping from one tree to another, she didn't allow the tree leaves, branches and the snow falling from distracting her focus on the handkerchief, which was still quite high in the sky above the forest.

After about half a minute, she emerged out of the forest. With no more trees to step on, she finally landed on both of her feet on the ground, coming to a halt.

As she refocused herself forward, Kirika immediately noticed a few things.

First of all, she was now in a park that she passed by earlier.

Secondly, this was the park with the large lake on its center, and that lake was a few tens of yards ahead of her.

The third, was that the speed of the handkerchief's flight was slowing, and its altitude was gradually descending.

In conclusion, the handkerchief would fall into the lake.

"I won't allow it."

She voiced her resolve, but her rationale knew it was pointless.

Even with her top speed, there was no way she could catch it before it went above the lake.

In that case - there was no choice.

"...[Ephemeral Frost]"

* * *

Julis was mad.

This had to be one of those days. Winters were supposed to be windy, that much she had expected.

But she didn't expect her handkerchief would be stolen by the wind just moments after she opened her window to clean it.

Julis wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't - **couldn't** \- lose that handkerchief.

Thus, right after she put away the chamois she was about to use for cleaning, she had immediately leaped down the window.

No sane person would ever do that, and even somewhere in her mind Julis thought it was a little scary...

But as a child of the [Starpulse Generation] - even jumping from the top of this dormitory would not affect her in the slightest.

Such was the physical abilities of a [Genestellar] like her.

As she landed down the footpath a little outside of the dormitory's fence, Julis looked around.

No sign of the handkerchief.

Julis tried to calm down the raging storm that was her panicked mind.

If it was not here, it must be somewhere in the forest. Searching for it would be horrendously difficult-

"...Hm?"

It was then Julis noticed something strange.

There was a broken tree branch lying down the base of one of the trees ahead of her.

Julis became curious. Was the wind that strong to break the tree branches? It was still only the first day of the winter season.

As she approached the tree to examine the fallen branch closer, Julis immediately noticed another thing.

There was another fallen branch, not far into the forest.

And even further inside, there was another.

And another.

 _Unnatural._

Her instincts alerted, Julis slowly walked into the forest.

Someone was surely responsible for this - they had jumped on the tree branches and broke them.

Julis didn't know how long ago, but it was clear that somebody, or maybe a group of people, were here, in the forest.

What could they be doing?

Then the realization hit her. It must be someone from the student body, who was spying on her.

She was a [Page One], one of the top students in the whole Academy after all.

Being spied upon, or ambushed, was nothing new so that the lower rank students could advance.

 _Oh, no..._

If anyone had been spying on her just now, they could clearly tell that the handkerchief belonged to her, and they could pick it up.

The thought of having Orphelia's last gift in the hands of someone other than her was terrifying.

She didn't even want to imagine it.

Without a second thought, Julis ran through the forest, following the lead of the broken branches.

The possibility of someone trying to pick up a flying handkerchief was low, but it was not a chance she would take.

Especially not after Julis saw that the branches were consistent. No Genestellar would be this careless - they had purposefully left them as a trail for her to follow.

Faster than Julis expected, the branches stopped as she was near the end of the forest and found herself in a park.

Now that she thought about it, there was a lake in this park. No... could it be the handkerchief had fallen to the lake-

"...!"

...What's that?

The sight was surreal. It looked like a scene straight out of a painting.

A figure she could recognize as a female student of Seidoukan with a long, snow white hair stood upright on the center of the park's lake.

The girl was raising her left hand to catch a handkerchief above her head, and her feet clearly standing on the water's surface.

 _Is that... Orphelia?_

No, no way. There was no way she could be here.

Not to mention, how could she stand on the lake like it was a solid ground?

 _Am I dreaming...?_

"Ow!"

...No, she was not dreaming. The sudden coldness from the snowflake hitting her between the eyes proved that.

As if realizing her presence, the girl on the lake turned around.

What she saw next made Julis held her breath.

The girl was not Orphelia after all, but she reminded Julis of her best friend nonetheless.

The first thing that caught Julis' attention was the girl's eyes - they were large pools of periwinkle blue, so pale it was almost white. Her gaze was ethereal - devoid of any emotion. Not unlike Orphelia's, the last time Julis saw her.

Her facial features were thankfully different from Orphelia, at least. Her oval face had very smooth features, almost unseen because of the pale skin. Julis could confidently say she was elegant, somewhat unfitting for a high school student.

Even the emotionless stare didn't take away the strong impression she gave. No, if anything, it made her gaze feel powerful; the kind Julis had attributed to a rare few individuals she knew.

However, further examining the girl made her feel uncomfortable. It was... even more similar to her best friend. The girl was not Orphelia, she had to remember that.

Not just the face, the girl's visible body features were all very pale - almost unnaturally so, and her hair was nearly indistinguishable from the snow falling around them. Even the way the winds swept her long, waist-reaching hair was similar to Orphelia.

Julis stopped her scrutiny when she noticed that slowly, the girl's mouth opened.

"...Are you the owner of this handkerchief?"

A voice that Julis couldn't describe as anything but melodious snapped her back to reality, and Julis caught herself from stuttering.

"Yes. You… did you run all the way from the dormitory to catch that?"

The girl answered with a slow nod, as she casually walked from the center of the lake back to the dry land, her eyes still focused on Julis.

Julis frowned. Her suspicion was correct, and thus the probability of this girl spying on her was quite high.

However, if she was confrontational now, she might not get Orphelia's gift back - thus she decided to play her part: mimicking the girl's actions, closing the distance between them.

Slowly, her eyes identified a lot more details on the girl's form.

This girl was taller than Julis herself, by roughly half a head. That was not too strange on its own - that only meant the girl's height was somewhere in the 170s or so centimeters - but she also had surprisingly broad shoulders, almost like a male.

Her Seidoukan uniform was slightly different than Julis' own - she wore the long-sleeved white jacket with the red lotus emblem on the left breast unbuttoned similar to herself, but the girl had dark green undershirt with white collars to match the jacket, and a blue skirt.

That ensemble was like a strange combo of male and female Seidoukan uniforms. Males were given undershirts and trousers while females like Julis were given one-piece dresses, but this girl wore a mix of both. Was it a new dress code for transfer students?

The girl also had black leggings to cover her long, strong-looking legs up to her thighs. It was almost identical to the ones Julis herself liked to wear, but that girl's leggings didn't have slits on their openings to make it easier to wear and take off; it was form-fitting.

Finally, the girl wore a pair of continental high-heeled shoes similar to the ones on her own feet. That was about the only thing Julis knew of that Orphelia was unlikely to ever use, honestly.

 _She is certainly quite something to look at..._

But that was that. She had more pressing issues at the moment.

After she was about 4 meters away from the girl, Julis halted her approach. In sync, the girl also halted.

Julis narrowed her eyes at that action, but she decided it was not worth commenting.

"Return it."

Wordlessly, the girl rather forcefully threw her handkerchief at her, prompting Julis to catch it with both of her hands.

An intense wave of relief hit her mind - the handkerchief was not harmed or even dirtied in the slightest.

Almost instinctively, Julis held it close to her chest. She wouldn't ever open her window with her handkerchief out of her pocket again.

"Thank you. It's something very, very precious to me."

The girl didn't respond. She didn't even react. She only stared at Julis with those empty eyes, unchanged from earlier.

Julis felt a little unnerved, but she brushed the thought away. She had her suspicions to confirm.

"Were you spying on me?"

Julis expected the girl to immediately deny it. No criminal would confess to being a criminal, after all.

However, the girl merely raised an eyebrow, and after a few seconds, shook her head twice, surprising her.

 _She wouldn't even speak?_

Was this girl not taking it seriously? That arrogant attitude was beyond rude.

"Speak when you answer me!"

"...Why would I spy on you?"

The girl spoke with a tone that was far too calm for someone getting caught spying. It was gritting Julis' nerves.

"Why else would you be out here? You were the one who broke those branches, didn't you?"

"I did. But what makes you think I was spying on you? Are you perhaps... a Page One?"

Julis raised a brow. Was she serious?

Every self-respecting student in this school would know the students listed on the Page One of the [Omnicon Chart] - the list for the top 72 students of a combat academy.

The exceptions were few and far in-between. Only students who honestly didn't care about the chart, and perhaps the transfer students, and even then, it was unlikely anyone would transfer now, in the 2nd trimester of the year.

The thought made Julis narrow her eyes. "Are you playing dumb with me? You don't know me?"

"No. I am a transfer student." The girl didn't even change her expression as she said that.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"My uniform is newer than yours."

"You could have bought a new one and pretend to be a transfer student."

"Do you want the student council president to prove it?"

Surprised, Julis halted herself from arguing further.

The student council president - Claudia Enfield - never approved of the stalkings and the ambushes done to the Page Ones by lesser students.

Informing Claudia of this would be the most foolish action any spy could have done. With that in mind, Julis supposed she had to lower her suspicion of the girl before her. Maybe, just maybe, she was being honest.

"No, I don't need her taking care of my problem."

"You don't have a choice. She is already here."

The girl raised her right hand, and pointed a finger to the forest behind.

Julis raised her brows, but she followed the direction regardless.

 _What could this girl possibly mean- huh?_

* * *

Kirika couldn't be more grateful for the timing.

She hadn't expected the person she helped to be someone like this.

At first, Kirika was quite surprised - the owner of the handkerchief was, in a single word, cute.

Not beautiful - not in those school outfit, anyway - but certainly eye-catching. The girl's hair had the colour of a deep pink rose, and its length was roughly the same as Kirika's own. It reminded her of a bouquet of pink roses often used for wedding ceremonies.

The irises on the girl's eyes reminded her of young leaves too, which was also interesting to look at. The large size of those eyes, the facial features, and the fair complexion suggested this pink-haired girl was non-Asian, probably Caucasian.

Kirika doubted that a little, though. Caucasians, and especially Genestellar Caucasians were generally very tall. Meanwhile, this girl was 10 centimetres or so shorter than herself, and last time Kirika checked, she was 175 cm.

 _It's true I am taller than most Japanese girls my age, but this disparity..._

Overall, the pink haired girl looked like Kirika's mother when she was younger. Their resemblance was uncanny; the facial features were only slightly different, while her body posture, complexion and even hair colour were almost the same. Only their eye colours were different.

If anything else was different, it was the way the girl carried herself. The pink haired girl was regal and more graceful than her mother. Despite being obviously surprised earlier after seeing her on the lake, the girl remained calm and didn't comment, focusing on that handkerchief.

A handkerchief which was, judging from its clumsy pattern and the vestiges of past repairs, likely handmade. It was either made by the girl herself or someone close, if she had enough attachment to it to run all the way here just to get it back.

In conclusion, the pink haired girl seemed to be surprisingly tender, and probably affectionate with people she was close with.

...Or at least that was what she thought, until the pinkie accused her of being a stalker.

The pink-haired girl turned out to be a Page One, and she seemed to be already suspicious - which was problematic. Kirika didn't expect the handkerchief she caught to belong to one of the top-ranked students in the Seidoukan.

Considering this girl's attitude, it would seem she already had her fair share of stalkings - something Kirika couldn't relate to, but certainly could empathise.

The thought of being followed and spied upon everywhere you went, not to mention the possibility of ambushes, were not something most people would enjoy to have.

However, as much as Kirika could understand her reasons for being suspicious, she didn't want to waste her time arguing her innocence here.

 _It's good the student council president... and that other person had been following me around._

Kirika didn't exactly mind that, either - she could understand why. A student council president of a combat academy was an authority figure in their territory.

Thus when a transfer student arrived earlier than scheduled and didn't make a contact, it was reason enough for suspicions to grow and supervision to be imposed.

She didn't expect the student council president to personally follow her, though. Wasn't the ninja - correction, the [Shinobi] - following her enough?

Regardless, Kirika was grateful for them both.

"There is no need to hide, Miss Claudia Enfield."

"...Ara. Well, this is quite a pleasant surprise."

As the pink-haired girl turned around from Kirika to the forest, a young woman came out from among the trees.

Claudia Enfield had a dazzling, blonde manes of hair that were thicker, longer and wavier than both her own and the other girl's, with bangs of hair that seemed to split unnaturally to accentuate her face.

Compared to the pink-haired girl, Claudia was much more obviously Caucasian. Her height seemed to be at the exact midpoint between Kirika's own height and the other girl's, too.

The only thing out of place from an ordinary person would be the pair of deep violet irises conveying the serene tranquility of its owners, which contrasted the fiery eyes of greenish blue that the other girl had.

Even the president's student uniform appeared classy, what with the frilly high-collars and sleeves on the white jacket, a dark green blouse with dual-tiered ruffled skirt, on top of a pair of high-heeled knee-reaching boots as well as thigh-high stockings with garter belts.

Seeing her body though, Kirika couldn't help but frown a little. It was... so voluptuous that even the clothes Claudia wore seemed to strain itself to contain it.

 _That chest. Did she button her jacket properly only to emphasize those breasts of hers?_

Kirika had confidence in her own proportions and three-sizes - it was B83/W55/H88, last time she checked - but even she had to admit those things on Claudia's chest made her feel a tinge of envy.

"I didn't expect you to know that I was here."

The student council president approached both of them with a calm posture that matched her voice.

The urge to smile mockingly at the blonde welled up within Kirika, but she decided against it.

It seemed Claudia was confident in her own skill at following people, and was subtly hiding her surprise.

Well, pointing that out right off the bat would be very rude, so she settled for something else.

"Hiding in the shadows doesn't suit a president such as yourself, Miss Enfield. A task like that is more fitting for a subordinate. Perhaps a ninja, for example?"

She was speaking softly, but Claudia's eyes widened at her words, almost imperceptibly so. If Kirika wasn't paying attention, she would have missed it.

The president was caught off-guard. Probably from realising that the transfer student she had been following was not just aware of her, but also of her ninja subordinate.

However, she recovered just as quickly as she was surprised. Kirika admired that.

"That's true, it was rude of me. However, it is also improper to not contact me when you arrive in my school much earlier than the schedule, isn't it?"

Claudia sounded polite, but there was a subtle edge underneath the question.

Kirika couldn't refute that, and she had no intention to. She purposefully didn't contact Claudia since she wanted to admire the greenery of the school.

It was a selfish reason - thus, Kirika was prepared for the consequences. She bowed her head as low as she could.

"I apologize. I overstepped my boundaries because I allowed my love of nature to make me forget my place as a transfer student."

"Love of nature?"

Kirika couldn't see, but she could hear Claudia did nothing to hide her surprise this time.

Before she could form a reply though, the pink-haired girl seemed to finally understand what she and Claudia were talking about.

"Claudia, you have been following her?"

"I'm embarrassed to admit it, but yes."

The pink-haired girl seemed to be deep in thought, as she fell into silence. Claudia, on the other hand, spoke again.

"Please raise your head. It's not a major transgression, and since you are a transfer student, it's understandable that you have no idea of the more intricate rules of this academy."

"Thank you very much."

Kirika supposed that was good enough as 'apology accepted'.

When she straightened up, Claudia and the other girl seemed to be scrutinizing her. The president quickly spoke to hide it, though.

"Julis. I apologize for interrupting you two, but as I said, she is a transfer student. I can assure you that she wasn't spying on you."

As Claudia said those authoritatively, the pink-haired girl - now Julis - turned to glare at the blonde.

They both seemed to communicate with their eyes, before Julis let out a sigh.

"Humph. Very well then."

Julis walked past Claudia and away from Kirika, not even bothering to look at her anymore.

Internally, she was slightly upset that this Julis girl didn't even bother to apologize for accusing her.

Not that she wanted to blame her, but it seemed some people were just too prideful for that-

"Transfer student, what's your name?"

That, surprised Kirika.

"Amagiri Kirika."

Julis turned her head slightly to her.

"I see. My name is Julis Alexia van Riessfeld, ranked fifth of Seidoukan Academy."

Kirika felt surprised a second time.

 _Van Riessfeld?_

That meant, Julis was part of-

"I apologize for accusing you as a stalker. I should not have allowed my circumstances cloud my judgment."

Once again, Kirika was surprised. Okay, she had to revise her opinion of Julis.

"I won't pretend that I am not offended. But I now understand your situation, the fault isn't yours to bear. There is no need to apologize."

"Is that so? Still, I owe you one for catching my handkerchief before it falls to the lake."

Julis turned around completely to face Kirika, with a surprisingly bright smile on her face.

"I will repay this in kind."

And with that, she left.

As soon as Julis was out of sight, Claudia let out a sigh that revealed signs of distaste.

"Honestly, that girl just couldn't be straightforward."

Kirika couldn't help but agree with Claudia's comment. That was a pretty roundabout way of saying 'I am grateful'.

Still, Kirika was not one who would speak ill about someone whom she barely knew.

"Miss Enfield. Is it okay for us to start our appointment now?"

"Ah, that's right. Then, shall we get going? The snow will wash our clothes if we stay here for too long."

Kirika couldn't help but allow her lips to form a slight smile at those words.

Being bathed in snow was not pleasant for most, but not her.

"...That's not something I would mind."

"Really?"

Unexpectedly, Claudia didn't try to hide her curiosity this time.

Kirika decided to humor that.

"You could say that I am fond of the concept [Yugen]."

"Yugen?"

"It is an aspect of the Japanese aesthetic."

Kirika felt like she should have stopped there, but for some reason, she didn't want to stop herself from explaining what it was.

 _No... I know why_.

She loved it so much, after all.

"It refers to the awareness about the depth and the vastness of our world."

Kirika spread her arms wide to emphasize her point, posing to grasp nature as much as she could.

"The emotions we feel. The thoughts we conjure in the face of our mysterious world. That's what Yugen means."

Claudia didn't seem to expect her to explain in such a detail, as the president stared her with a perplexed look.

"It's not that I don't understand the appeal of nature, but I never give much thought about it."

Once again, Kirika couldn't control herself. A small smile formed again on her face against her will.

"It is just a value I hold. I spend too much time thinking about everything."

* * *

 **Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Amagiri Kirika**

* * *

 **How was it? Leave your thoughts in the reviews~**

 **For the ones that know that the story starts during an early summer, don't be quick to assume that I made a mistake: it is intentional. This is an Alternate Universe after all.**

 **This story is the first of my series of side experiments regarding harem light novels, in which I will replace their main character archetypes (the archetypal Ideal Hero) with a completely different type of hero. Thus, this story is a SIDE FIC.**

" **Amagiri Kirika" is an OC to replace Ayato, and as you can see, while she is very different, she does have a few subtle similarities with him.**

 **Kirika's name means "mist, flower" which is based on an alternate reading of Amagiri Haruka's first name, which could mean "distant, flower." Details about her will be written on my bio soon, but her appearance is already there in the cover image of this story.**

 **If you find continuity errors – such as Kirika knowing about her mother Amagiri Sakura, which Ayato didn't – rest assured it is all, calculated. Kirika's backstory isn't identical with Ayato's, and I didn't spend so long being busy without preparing my plot.**

 **For the readers who know me from my other works, I am sorry that I took my time writing this while I haven't updated my Main and Side fics for months now. I am out of touch, so I write this as a form of exercise to "warm up" my skills for the real deal.**

 **I promise, if real life would give me enough time, I will update them soon.**

 **Now then, that's all I have to say. Thank you for dropping by to read "Asterisk Winter"!**


	2. Act 1, Chapter 2

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 2**

 **To Begin Learning**

* * *

If Kirika would choose a word for what she was feeling now, it would be 'bewilderment.'

It was not out of alertness, or anything of the sort. Since leaving the park earlier, the Shinobi that was tailing her had left - probably a sign that supervision was no longer necessary - and Claudia had escorted her through the school facilities, with the student council room as their destination.

Kirika had heard that the combat academies of Asterisk city incorporated the most cutting-edge tech available to the generation, so she expected it to look like a fortress.

At first, it certainly seemed so. The three main buildings of the Seidoukan, which belonged to junior high, senior high, and university respectively, all looked very modern on the exterior, even the courtyard surrounding the three buildings didn't have as much trees or grass as the other parts of the facility.

Compared to the girl's dormitory where Julis resided, the dormitory was much more classical and colorful.

But as it turned out, the interiors of the building looked rather… mundane. The cafeteria she passed by appeared to be fairly traditional despite being well-equipped, and the class hallways didn't seem too different than the ones she was familiar with in her hometown.

It was not until Claudia escorted her to the elevator that the 'futuristic' part of the school finally showed up.

Minus the door, the elevator was probably made entirely of glass, which was something Kirika could appreciate; she could see the sight of the school facilities outside of the main building through its floor and walls, and eventually some part of the Asterisk city as the glass box ascended to the top floor.

The top floor was different from the ground floor at least, but even then it didn't appear like a military fortress at all. The polished hallways and the large windows gave it the feeling of a very rich corporation building, instead.

On hindsight, Kirika supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. After all, the ones who built the whole War Academy City Asterisk were part of the largest corporation in the world, [Integrated Enterprise Foundation]…

However, it was the student council president herself whom Kirika found to be the most confusing aspect of her trip.

For some reason, Claudia seemed to find it suitable to transform from a calm and composed figure of authority into a talkative high school girl when private.

"Ara, I forgot. You haven't heard about this, but you and I are of the same age, so feel free to relax and drop the formalities from earlier."

Claudia suddenly said that, turning her gaze to Kirika as the two of them walked side-by-side through the hallway.

Kirika wanted to suppress her surprise like she usually did, but for now she supposed she had no need to.

"...That's impressive. You are already the student council president in your first year of high-school?"

Apparently, combat academies had a different student council system than typical schools; the student council of a combat academy consisted of a single body that drew members from all three levels.

It was one of the few things Kirika liked about combat academies; even the youngest junior high students could be working with the oldest university students, if they had the ability to prove themselves.

However, being the student council president of a combat academy was on a whole different level of 'competent.'

"That's true. As a matter of fact, this is already my third term as the president of this school."

"You must be an extraordinary woman, then… Claudia."

As Kirika voiced her thoughts and obeyed the request of informality, Claudia stopped walking - prompting Kirika to halt as well - and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Quite an interesting choice of words you are using. Not 'student', but 'woman'?"

It was Kirika's turn to raise an eyebrow. Was Claudia being modest?

"You are more than just an accomplished student, are you not? You are a beautiful young woman with a levelheaded mind. Your achievements are worthy of being the student council president for this academy. What part of that isn't extraordinary?"

Her choice of words might make it seem like flattery. Yet, to Kirika's own ears, her tone of voice felt like she was describing a summarized report. And to be honest, it was one.

That description had omitted all of her analysis and presumptions of the president, of course. Nonetheless, Kirika respected what was factual about Claudia.

"That's... well, if you put it that way, I suppose I am quite different from ordinary women my age. Thank you for the compliment."

Claudia stuttered at first - whether it was out of surprise or because she was flustered, it remained to be seen - but she quickly masked it with a pleased smile.

Closing her eyes, Kirika shrugged.

"Your thanks is wasted on me. I am simply describing what I see. And that description likely doesn't reach what you really are, anyway."

"Hmm… what I really am, eh? And what do you see about it?"

The president's tone was that of a polite curiosity, but her eyes and her smile were confident and challenging. She turned to face Kirika completely now.

Despite her force of habit, Kirika couldn't help but smile a little. It was her fourth time smiling today, which had surpassed her expectations somewhat.

"A lady with a sly personality. Sweetly and dangerously chatty. Eyeing me with predatory curiosity and sincerity."

"Pfft… ha ha ha!"

Claudia tried to stifle her laughter, but it seemed what Kirika said was so funny to her, she couldn't help but laugh wholeheartedly.

Amusing as it was, Kirika honestly found Claudia's current behavior rather strange.

Kirika had met with Claudia once before; when the student council president first extended an invitation for her to become a transfer student for Seidoukan, which she had rejected. But Claudia's behavior back then didn't really match the current Claudia at all.

Before, her persona was more of an unwavering lady whose mask of smile betrayed none of her own thoughts except to the most perceptive; thoughts that were constantly scheming to manipulate others with subtlety and efficiency.

A behavior befitting a student council president of a combat academy, really. After all, Claudia was 'sly, sweet and dangerous'

But now, the woman beside Kirika didn't fit that description at all. **This** Claudia was trying to be friendly. And Kirika couldn't decide whether that was out of 'curiosity' - the kind you had when studying a potential enemy - or genuine sincerity.

As though she realized that it was improper, Claudia coughed to stifle her laughter and regain her composure, although her smile betrayed the fact that she was still amused.

"Fufu. Your attempt of creating rhymes is not half-bad."

At that statement, Kirika wanted to roll her eyes.

"Not bad? I was trying to make it sound bad."

"I doubt a normal person can make that up on the spot. Not to mention, you are **spot on** with your assessment."

Kirika widened her eyes.

"Did you just…?"

"Give you an example of a bad wordplay? Yes, I just did."

Claudia giggled again, even though it was at her own expense.

For Kirika though, that was funny. Not enough to smile for, she supposed, but amusing nonetheless.

"It was not half-bad."

"You are just saying that. My poor attempts of comedy aside, you really are an interesting fellow, Kirika."

As Claudia said that, she finally resumed the walk to the student council room, prompting Kirika to do the same.

"Your description of me is quite close to how I would describe myself."

Kirika was a little surprised that the student council president readily admitted that her assessment was correct. Was this really the same 'Claudia Enfield'?

The observation was still uncertain. Kirika needed to know what the president was thinking. In that case, gauging Claudia's response was necessary.

"Self-depreciating, aren't you?"

Against her expectations, Claudia smiled. Though the bitterness in its conveyance made it look and feel fake.

"That's assuredly not the case. I am not as virtuous as I appear to be; I believe you are aware of that as well."

Kirika suppressed the urge to narrow her eyes at Claudia. Was that genuine humility? Or did Claudia want to appear humble?

"Alright, we are here."

The two of them stopped at one of the many doors in the hallway.

Using her school badge, Claudia authenticated herself at the ID locked door, which slid open to reveal a vast and spacious room which felt a bit excessive for a student council room.

"Please come in."

The design and the furniture were clearly way too expensive; the floor of the entryway was covered in a dark brown, leather rug. A painting depicting the Seidoukan Academy's school grounds was hung on the wall on the right.

At the other end of the room was a window even larger than the ones in the hallways made of glass, and in front of it was placed a heavy, large oaken conference desk with matching number of chairs, and a fewer number of computers. Even with those, there was still plenty of room to spare.

Simply put, it was probably suited to be boardroom of a large corporation, rather than a simple student council office.

 _Just goes to show how well-funded a combat academy actually is, I suppose_.

After Kirika was done observing the room, her eyes went back to Claudia, who was already seated at the head of the oaken table with a practiced ease, her fingers tented under her chin. Her eyes were focused on Kirika the entire time, a smile on her lips.

"Now that we are here… once again, welcome to Seidoukan Academy, Kirika."

The president turned on her chair, now facing the window behind her.

"And… welcome to Rikka, the Asterisk City."

As Kirika followed her in looking out over the city from their high vantage point, a neat and tidy skyline filling her gaze, one that she would rarely see anymore with what's been happening throughout the world for the past few years.

Floating atop the crater-lake in North Kanto of Japan - left by one of the many immense meteorites that fell upon the Earth during the events of [Invertia] in the last century - lay the artificial-island city, lined with massive buildings across the sky to the occasional helicopters.

In the center of its hexagonal layout sat the central district, with one of the six combat schools reaching out in each direction, giving one the impression of a large snowflake. The name of this city; Rikka or Snowflake, was rooted in this fact.

Each school had its own district, with a large road leading up to the school itself, the architecture of which resulted in a star shape, or more precisely, an asterisk hexagram.

Granted, the origin of this name was something that had to be seen to be understood for the students who journeyed from around the world to be here.

Seeing this scenery, Kirika's heart fluttered. As terrifying as the Invertia event was, she could appreciate it for a few things - the aftereffects it left upon the world.

One, the apocalyptic levels of destruction had caused many nations to fall from power, allowing the [Integrated Enterprise Foundation], or [IEF] for short, to rise from their ashes to bring a change for the world at large, and the birth of new forms of society.

That being said, while Kirika could appreciate that the world was moving forward, she really didn't like the direction IEF was pushing the world to.

Two, the meteorites brought forth a new form of energy called [Mana] upon the world, which resulted in the inception of a new human species - the [Genestellars].

Known as the [Children of the Starpulse Generation], whom could harness mana within their bodies to achieve superhuman feats. The ores of the meteorites themselves were also unique materials that could harness mana, referred as [Manadyte].

If not for Mana, Manadytes and Genestellars, the world wouldn't have changed much in spite of so much destruction and the rise of IEF.

Three, it brought a new form of nature beauty. Invertia was a beautiful disaster after all, and in its aftermath the face of the Earth itself changed.

The change in the seasons became unnatural, sometimes winters could freeze the earth for entire years, sometimes springs would turn to autumn and then return back in only a few months, and sometimes, summers would not happen at all.

Of course, that was Kirika's preferred order - in truth, the seasons had become very random, in both order, length and intensity. Scientists theorized that it was a side effect of Mana upon the planet's atmosphere.

As Kirika was admiring the scenery though, a chuckle broke her from her daze.

"As I thought. Only natural beauty could make you react cutely like that."

With Claudia's words snapping her back to reality, Kirika immediately remembered where she was and what occasion she was in.

Kirika wanted so badly to kick herself now - letting herself distracted by a simple scenery in front of anyone was embarrassing.

"I apologize. I was distracted again."

"Fufu, that was on purpose, you know?"

Stifling a giggle, Claudia smiled as she turned again to Kirika; her gentle purple eyes meeting her own icy blue.

Kirika suppressed the urge to frown, and sighed instead. She was not going to be played by Claudia's cheekiness.

Unaware of Kirika's internal plight, Claudia continued to speak.

"Usually, the formal procedure for a special invitee transfer student such as yourself would require me to explain the expectations and regulations of this school. However, I am aware that you are already very familiar with those."

"Except for the more intricate rules, yes."

Claudia clearly didn't want to waste time with the formalities, and neither did Kirika. Thus, she nodded in confirmation.

"Well then. Shall we skip right into the important topics? I did promise you this information, after all."

Although her tone was pleasant and the smile never faltered, Claudia's gaze hardened. Kirika could tell - now she was serious.

"About your sister, Amagiri Haruka."

Kirika tensed.

 _Dear sister_ …

Whether that was out of reflex or out of emotion, Kirika didn't know.

Amagiri Haruka, the first daughter of the Amagiri household, who had disappeared without a trace six years ago.

 _The one who forged me._

Inhaling, Kirika calmed her nerves to speak.

"You said that Haruka had once attended this school. Is it true?"

In all honesty, Kirika could barely believe it.

Haruka detested Asterisk and the system built by the IEF. Its corrupted way of handling things, its materialistic views of everything. It was one of the few things that her sister had openly expressed hatred against.

Among the many things that Haruka had taught Kirika, being careful with anything related to the IEF - the Asterisk city in particular - was among the most emphasized lessons her sister had given her.

 _That being the case, why would my sister even take a step into this hive of filth?_

Claudia extended her forefinger, as if to accept Kirika's gaze.

"Hmm, well, how to put this? All I know is a rumor, that she once attended this school. All information regarding her stay here has since been deleted by an unknown party."

Kirika narrowed her eyes. Deleted? From the records of a combat academy?

"Is that even possible?"

"Generally speaking, of course not. Even for someone in my position, deleting the records of a student would require a petition to the company who funds this school."

The blonde's radiant smile turned somewhat bitter at that comment.

Kirika didn't need to be told about what that meant. Then, the one responsible for the deletion of Haruka's data held a position even higher than the student council president - or in other words, a member of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation.

This was under the assumption Claudia didn't lie about not being able to delete it.

"There is no record of 'her' ever having taken part in any school events, either. As I am sure you already know, almost everything happening in this city is monitored by the media."

"..."

That was on point - Asterisk City was a metropolitan with extremely high levels of media exposure.

Even small incidents such as intra-school duels between students could not escape the media, any information of such events would be immediately spread to every corner of the city, and through the Net, the rest of the world.

Kirika nodded in affirmation. The president took that as a sign to continue.

"To be perfectly honest, whether or not she ever attended this school is questionable. Assuming she did indeed attend here, that was but some five years ago. There are both students and faculty here who have been here this entire time, and yet none remember her."

"Five years ago?"

She had to raise an eyebrow. That was suspiciously specific. If the record had been deleted, how did Claudia get that number?

"How did you…"

Almost as if to interrupt Kirika, Claudia extended a hand, which operated a holographic screen that conveniently appeared above her table. A moment later, a similar projected screen in mid-air, depicting what appeared to be a corrupted student biodata.

For once, Kirika felt she could not stop her eyes from widening in pure, unadulterated shock.

Most of the texts on the screen were corrupted and replaced by gibberish texts. Even the picture that accompanied the biodata was mildly corrupted as well. However, Kirika couldn't **not** recognize the facial features of the young woman in the picture.

The face which reminded her of her own face, the dark shade of night blue which colored the hair, and the perfectly circular pair of glasses over the large eyes with irises identical in color with the hair.

It was Haruka, without a doubt.

"This is all we've been able to recover. She entered five years ago, departing after just half a year for personal reasons. Her name, birth date, background; almost nothing remains."

As Claudia said that, Kirika turned her gaze from the screen back to the president.

"...How did you come by this?"

In order to recover lost information, one obviously had to be first aware it had been discarded.

However, of this student, neither records nor memories remained. That being the case, how did Claudia know?

Claudia turned from the computer to return her gaze.

"I apologize. I'm afraid I can't reveal that. Do you not trust me?"

"I want to, certainly. However, you cannot blame me for being suspicious, no?"

As a student council president, Claudia definitely had her own sources of intelligence.

It went without saying that such things were confidential. Kirika knew about it very well, both from what Haruka had taught her and from her recent years.

However, those same years had also taught her better than to trust people easily. Especially if they were a significant figure in the Asterisk, such as a student council president.

Kirika didn't know the full extent of Claudia's influences and resources, after all. While a member of the IEF would certainly be more influential, that was precisely why shifting the blame toward them would be convenient.

Her smile faltering, Claudia let out a sigh.

"Hah… I suppose that's true. You have already made your distrust of this school quite clear in our first meeting."

Internally, Kirika wanted to roll her eyes. Being 'quite clear' about her refusal was almost an understatement. It was essentially a speech about how much she detested combat academies and the Asterisk city as a whole.

" _You and I are both aware that this place is nothing more than a playground of corruption. Here, dreams come true by crushing others and wishes are granted by selling yourself to become obedient dogs of the system."_

That speech had summarized her thoughts back during their first meeting, and to be honest... it was not enough to explain her disdain for Asterisk and its systems.

That being said-

"It's nothing personal, Claudia. I might not trust someone in your position, but I would like to trust you. I have no intention to back out from transferring here."

"...Is that so?"

Kirika didn't miss Claudia's surprised look that slipped out of the president's mask for a moment.

"Pardon me for asking, but I am curious about why did you accept my second invitation. Is it only because of information about your sister?"

"No. Clues about Haruka's whereabouts are welcome for me, but it's hardly my only reason for coming here."

"That's odd, considering your rather negative opinion of the Asterisk. If you don't mind, may I ask why?"

"If I have to state a reason…"

" _I have taught you about lots of things, Kirika. But I know you will try to learn about them yourself, nonetheless."_

Kirika couldn't help but pause for a moment, recalling one of Haruka's prediction about her future.

Her sister really was rarely wrong about her.

"...It's because, I would like to see what kind of experience a place like this would offer me."

"My, how abstract."

Claudia smiled and spoke with a pleased tone, before a holographic projection appeared, displaying the numbers '08:00'.

"Ara, look at the time. I would like to keep you around to relay more details regarding your transfer, but unfortunately, it's about time for our class."

"Does that mean we will be scheduling another appointment?"

"Yes, of course. I will inform you when and where through a message."

"In that case… shall we go together? We might not be classmates, but we are both first years, so our class should be on the same way."

Apparently not expecting Kirika to offer that, Claudia widened her eyes for just a moment, before smiling.

"Then, let's."

* * *

"Well then, this is the special transfer student, Amagiri Kirika. Please get along well with everyone."

What a careless introduction.

Kirika didn't mind being ignored, but it should be common practice that because of their new environment, teachers would place extra emphasis on caring for transfer students.

In this instance, however, not the slightest hint of concern could be felt from this particular teacher.

Kirika glanced to her right, at the Japanese woman clad in red and black tracksuit which was probably the gym uniform. The homeroom teacher of Year 1 Class 3, named Yatsuzaki Kyouko, whose very expression seemed to scream 'It's your turn now.'

She was rather tall - nearly as, but not quite as tall as Kirika herself - her dark brown hair was long and wild, reaching down to the back. It completely enhanced the barbarian vibe which the narrowed eyes with green irises were already projecting.

For a Genestellar, this woman actually appeared very similar to a normal human... if not for the ferocious attitude she was giving off. It might just be Kirika's preferences, but her tone and her attitude seemed more fitting of a street thug than a teacher.

That said, that was not what was most surprising about her; which would be the nailed bat she held in her hands. Well-worn, and dyed a deep scarlet, its presence piquing Kirika's interest.

"Hey, hurry it up."

Kirika rolled her eyes.

"...I'm Amagiri Kirika. Pleased to see all of you."

Displaying lack of care that was comparable with the teacher beside her, Kirika was aware that she sounded exactly like the stereotypical aloof girl in manga comics she often read.

Even with that introduction however, Kirika found that every gaze in the room centered on her.

Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of students who were intrigued by her appearance.

Many tried to hide their whispers about her beauty while completely unaware she was listening.

There were also students who seemed to stare deeply for no reason whatsoever.

Much to her chagrin, there were only a few number of students who didn't seem to care.

Transfer students were always the subject of attention, but this was rather excessive.

Just one girl stared at her with a surprised expression, the reasoning for which Kirika was only too aware.

Julis Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld, the first princess of Lieseltania.

"About the seats, there are a lot of empty ones right there near the back, so pick whichever you like."

Indeed, there were quite a number of unoccupied seats, including the ones on either side of Julis' seat.

Kirika didn't mind wherever she sat, but she supposed being near someone she knew would be to her advantage.

 _I'll take one to your left, then._

As she walked, the pink-haired girl's gaze seemed to be focused on her - as if expecting her to say something.

How odd. Was Julis expecting a greeting? Just because she knew her name and vice versa?

 _Well, I am sorry, Princess. Consider this a payback for accusing me earlier._

Resisting her urge to smile, Kirika glanced only for a second, before turning to look the other way as she pulled her chair and sat down.

 _How_ _about that, hum?_

At the corner of her eye, Julis' eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before turning into a glare.

Kirika wished she could giggle without appearing like a freak to the class.

* * *

 **How was it? Drop your thoughts in the reviews~**

 **Now that the second chapter of Asterisk Winter is done, I am done warming up. I will stop updating this fanfic for some time to focus on the ones I am already writing for (although that won't stop me from updating this whenever I feel like it, this is a Side Fic after all)**

 **That's all I have to say. Thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter"!**


	3. Act 1, Chapter 3

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 3**

 **First Conclusions**

* * *

Julis was sure today was one of the most unusual days in her life.

Her morning was **not** off to a great start, what with almost losing her friend's last gift into a lake. She shuddered just thinking about it – it was a mistake she would never make again anytime soon.

But right after she was done with her morning routines in the dorm and ready to attend her class, that stubborn boy had followed her yet again to challenge her to a duel.

Lester McPhail, ranked ninth of the Page One. Just four ranks below her, really.

Julis wasn't one to turn down a challenge in front of her. She had her pride, and fighting against a fellow Page One would surely be productive. But even she didn't want to waste time with someone who didn't know that he was in way over his head.

Couldn't he understand? She had beaten him not once, not twice, but thrice already in the previous trimester. If Lester was improving with each duel, then she would reconsider, but the boy didn't seem to improve at all with every encounter – he just foolishly challenged her again and again.

And thus, she had to go everywhere with him tailing her like a spoiled kid who wanted her mother to buy him a toy they couldn't afford. That image was both embarrassing and conspicuous, and Julis burned that away from her mind. It was probably divine mercy that Lester wasn't in the same classroom as her.

Still, regardless of her mood, she couldn't contain her surprise when that transfer student was introduced in front of her class.

"...I'm Amagiri Kirika. Pleased to see all of you."

A beautiful girl whose form made her recall the image of her friend, Orphelia... even though she seemed to be a foreigner from the East. Regardless, Amagiri Kirika was definitely an interesting fellow.

Though Julis was initially wary of her – a not very well thought out and rushed presumption Julis was rather shameful about – it was fact the transfer student had retrieved Orphelia's handkerchief for her.

She didn't really think too much of that at first. After all, helping someone in need was just common courtesy. But it was after she gave it a second thought, she realized there were many peculiarities.

First of all, Claudia, the student council president herself, took her time to follow this transfer student. Julis didn't know whether that scheming woman had been doing this specifically to Kirika or that she actually stalked other students too, but it was certainly unusual.

And then, if what Claudia was saying was true, then Kirika should have been taking a stroll before the girl saw her handkerchief flew out of the window, before deciding to chase after it.

 _Who on earth would bother running after a handkerchief stolen by the wind?_

Normally, no one. Even if Genestellars had superhuman physical prowess, most would probably not even consider it to be worth their time and effort, let alone actually pull it off. Julis would try, but that was mainly because of her personal feelings regarding the item.

However, Kirika went after it beyond all reason and managed to catch it, even crossing a lake in the process. Whatever was inside the transfer student's mind, Julis couldn't imagine, but the ability she had displayed intrigued her.

For the Genestellar, walking on bodies of water was not impossible, but it was almost unheard of and incredibly difficult.

In order to do so, one had to carefully control the interaction between 'the mana within one's own body' - known as [Prana] by some Asian martial arts - and 'the mana within the environment' - in this case, the water - to stabilise the surface tension of the water.

It was much, much easier said than done. Julis was tempted to try it a few times, but she had failed miserably and embarrassed herself each time.

Most likely, it was because she had never grasped the 'feeling' of it. Understanding a theory and actually putting it into practice were two different matters.

The fact that Kirika reached the center of the lake to catch Orphelia's handkerchief, and then comfortably strolled back to the dry land, spoke volumes about her ability to control her prana. That level of ability should earn her a place among the Page One.

With those thoughts in her mind, Julis became more than a bit curious about this transfer student. She was actually looking forward to meeting her again, more than just to repay a debt.

That sentiment bothered her somewhat, though. How long had it been since Julis was this curious about someone?

"About the seats, there are a lot of empty ones right there near the back, so pick whichever you like."

As the teacher said that, Julis watched as the white-haired, possibly albino girl moved smoothly to the near back of the classroom.

It might just be Julis' imagination, but... did Kirika's pale blue eyes seem focused on her?

 _Why are you staring like that?_

Kirika then actually picked a seat to her left, and for a moment she appeared to glance at her...

...before she suddenly averted her gaze, and took her seat with a very unpleasant sounding 'hump'.

 _What...?_

Was she… purposefully ignoring her?

At that moment, Julis wished glares could burn.

* * *

As Kirika had expected, the first class was unproductive.

It's not that the teacher – Yatsuzaki Kyouko – was incompetent. Far from it, in fact.

The teacher's intimidating presence commanded every single student to pay her full attention, and her own explanation about the nature of combat, mana and manadytes were detailed.

It was not the teacher's ability that made it useless to her. The class was unproductive because she had no need for a lesson she was already very familiar with.

Kirika was sure her previous teachers, such as Haruka, could teach better than anyone the Asterisk could offer, and even though Kyouko was very impressive by her standards, the teacher hadn't proven her thoughts wrong as of yet.

 _They have taught me about just about everything, too_ _…_

Would that mean she had no need to attend classes?

No, it was too soon to assume that she would learn nothing new from the classes. She had to attend every lesson at least once or twice before drawing conclusions.

Still, the fact that the first day's lesson was utterly and completely useless somewhat discouraged her. It was perhaps a good thing that it was the only class for today.

"Hey, you."

Well, she could think about the classes later-

"Don't pretend like you don't know me!"

Right now, there was a princess to take care of.

Next to her seat, a redhead stood upright with her fists clenched, her green-blue eyes filled with anger.

Judging from the scowl on her face, Julis was a few moments away from exploding if not diffused quickly.

Honestly, it was a shame – an opportunity to play with an angry princess didn't come often. However, if she allowed the redhead's anger to grow past this point, it might develop into a volatile situation.

Especially-

"Eh, the princess knows that transfer student?"

"For real? They know each other?!"

"Look, she is ignoring the princess!"

…Judging from the noises in the background, Kirika's analysis was spot on. Julis was very popular.

There was no doubt about it. The first princess of Lieseltania, a former German territory under the control of two branches of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, would attract the attention of almost any student if she ever transferred into the Asterisk, regardless of the school she picked.

Not to mention, Julis was pleasant to the eyes and ears. If she was also a Genestellar powerful enough to occupy a rank among the Page One, then her popularity would only increase further. Heck, it was likely the princess even had a dedicated fan club.

Schools were filled to the brim by weirdos like that, after all.

In any case, it didn't seem wise to chat with Julis among them.

With that in mind, Kirika opened her mouth.

"Sie sind die Prinzessin Lieseltanias... allein mit ihnen zu sprechen würde für Aufmerksamkeit sorgen."

Following her soft words, was silence.

The students in the classroom suddenly fell silent, and Julis herself seemed to be startled, if her widened eyes were any indication.

It was understandable, though. Kirika just said 'you are the Princess of Lieseltania... just talking to you would attract attention' in German, after all.

Ever since the Integrated Enterprise Foundation took control of the majority of the world, they had established English as the sole formal language used in international affairs. It had led to the decline of other languages outside of their native land.

Especially within the Asterisk City, learning English was a necessity for anyone who wanted to stay here in some form or another.

Besides English, the only language commonly used within the Asterisk was her mother tongue, Japanese. Even then, that was only because the whole city was built on the Kanto region, the territory of Japan.

Therefore, students capable of understanding German were in the minority.

Luckily, Julis was a princess hailing from there, so she was among those minority.

"Du sprichst deutsch?"

As the princess muttered with a questioning tone, Kirika had to resist letting out a chuckle.

Just as expected, Julis seemed to have a hard time believing what Kirika just said. And to test it, she asked a question in German.

A question which meant 'you can speak German?' in English.

 _Humph. What do you think?_

Among the many things Julis could ask, she chose one with an obvious answer.

Kirika glanced at her surroundings. It seemed that nobody else in the classroom was able to understand their exchange, as most of them were whispering to each other.

It was a tempting thought to take advantage of their slow response and leave before these weirdos would start questioning her, but that would leave Julis even angrier than before.

In that case-

 _Better drop a hint for her to pick up, I suppose._

After all, she also wanted to talk with her.

"Wenn sie reden wollen dann achten sie bitte auf ihre Umgebung."

"…Oh."

Standing upright from her chair, Kirika whispered softly to Julis, whose mouth turned into an O.

It meant, 'if you want to talk, consider our surroundings'. In other words, if Julis wanted to talk, it would be somewhere else.

Whether or not the princess would pick that up, it was up to herself.

Judging from that reaction, Julis seemed to understand, though. That was good.

Kirika said nothing more as she walked toward the exit.

* * *

It seemed that no matter how advanced humanity had progressed, all classrooms within a school would always look similar to each other.

That fact bemused Kirika a little.

Seidoukan Academy was a school that taught violence and combat as means to an end. That was an undeniable fact.

However, the Foundation was pretentious enough to try and disguise itself as a place of uniformity, as a place of education, despite teaching its students how to be obedient, ignorant puppets of the system.

Earlier, she didn't pay attention to it because she was focused to Claudia, but now that she was alone, each step in the hallways of a place perpetuating such irony made her fought back her urge to sigh.

… _Calm down and stop being critical, Kirika._

Yes, she shouldn't be complaining. It was her choice to enroll here. It was her decision not to evaluate this place, but to taste what kind of experience she would have here.

Focus. Her next objective is to discuss her next meeting with the student council, after all. And Claudia Enfield was not as easy person to discern, even if her friendliness seemed sincere.

 _Hmm_ _…_ _I was just right on time._

The classroom Claudia entered a few hours ago was done, if the crowds of students coming out of the door was any indication.

Kirika couldn't see the blonde manes of hair Claudia had among the crowd, though.

 _Where are you?_

All she could see were a bunch of students who seemed to have noticed her watching them from a distance.

"…Who is that beauty?"

"I don't think I have seen her before…"

"Maybe it's that transfer student! I heard there is one in the other class."

Kirika was pleased at that. That was perfect.

Normally, she would scoff at people for blatantly displaying their scrutiny. But if these students were chattering about a 'transfer student' that would certainly alert Claudia inside the classroom that she was here.

Sure enough, soon after the students became noisy, a blonde with tranquil purple eyes walked out of the door, glancing around, before meeting her gaze.

"Oh, Kirika! I didn't expect you to come over my class."

She could almost feel the cheerful tone of voice from Claudia was physically trying to tingle her own lips to smile.

That being said, Kirika didn't feel like smiling now.

"Rather than through a message, I feel it would be more pleasant to talk face-to-face about our next appointment."

"I see. Then, would you like to have lunch with me? I am sure you would appreciate some food after our discussion."

Kirika widened her eyes. She knew Claudia was trying to be friendly, but she doubted the president was going to eat in that traditional-looking cafeteria. It didn't fit the proper lady image Claudia was projecting at all.

No, most likely, Claudia probably had special service. If the student council could have an entire room the size of a conference room for themselves, surely the school could provide things like personal service for each of the members.

Better to just ask about it.

"Is that fine? I doubt we will be eating in the cafeteria."

Claudia's smile widened just a little.

"Of course not. We will be heading to the student council lounge at the rooftop."

* * *

Kirika was - for a third time today, she realized - mesmerized.

The 'student council lounge' definitely surpassed her expectations. Not only it was placed at the very highest spot in the Seidoukan Academy, its size had occupied the entirety of the rooftop.

The lounge was more of a park than a room, but it was nonetheless a nice resting room – it was filled here and there with tropical plants, there was a huge pool at the center, and the walls and the ceilings were all made of glass, which presented full view of the gray skies of winter and the rest of Seidoukan.

There were a lot of patio tables with umbrellas and stretched deck chairs surrounding the pool, though they were understandably empty. In the midst of winter, there was little point in using the lounge.

Though for Kirika, this was practically the ideal lounge.

"Fufu. Like what you see?"

Coming from her left, Claudia's teasing voice once again snapped Kirika back to her senses.

"…I do."

Kirika had been embarrassed in front of Claudia again, but this time she barely even cared. It seemed that this school had a healthy appreciation of nature, at least.

"This was left behind by my predecessor, who forcibly had it put in place. Although the costs were immense, the cost to return things to their original state was similarly high, so there's nothing to be done but to take full advantage."

As if knowing she was about to ask, Claudia suddenly explained in a matter of fact tone. That didn't quite satisfy her curiosity, though.

"Although I understand the appeals of an indoor pool, there is a lake near the school. Why not make use of that?"

"The lake near the female dorms, you mean? Unfortunately, swimming there is forbidden."

"Why is that?"

"The lake is actually part of the Science Club's stage of experiment. Thus, the water is infused with high concentrations of mana."

Kirika raised an eyebrow to that.

"Experiment? Are they experimenting the effects of mana-induced mutations on aquatic flora and fauna?"

She couldn't exactly say it didn't pique her interest. The Genestellar as a whole was a species born from the mutation of humanity due to mana, and mana had also affected many other living beings on the planet the same way, down to the cellular level.

"Exactly."

Apparently pleased at her knowledge of the subject, Claudia smiled and clapped.

"It was fortunate for you to catch Julis' handkerchief before it fell to that lake. The sudden infusion of high amount of mana into an ordinary object could tear it apart."

"That certainly explains why she is so grateful for it…"

"That is true. Anyway, I have already ordered our lunch in advance, so let's take a seat and begin our discussion right… there."

Claudia then gestured her hand to one of the smaller patio table without an umbrella, which only had two intricately designed chairs. All three objects of furniture were dyed in pure white, and it didn't have a single scratch or imperfection.

Kirika had to praise the people who were maintaining this floor. Unnecessarily expensive as the furnitures might be, the cleaning service still held their responsibility splendidly.

The two of them then made themselves comfortable on their respective seats, with Kirika taking the seat that was facing the pool.

Gloomy as the sky was, the dim reflection from the surface of the pool was pleasing to her eyes, after all.

As she was focusing on the pool behind Claudia though, the student council president opened her mouth.

"You are probably aware of this already, but the Seidoukan Academy only expects one thing from its students."

Kirika nodded. Of course, she already knew about it.

"It's victory in the [Festa – the Star Warrior Festival], right?"

[Seidoukan Academy], [Saint Garrardsworth Academy], [Allekant Academy], [Jie Long World Dragon 7th Institute], [Le Wolfe Black Institute], [Queen Veil Girl's Academy]; the six combat schools of the artificial island [War Academy City Asterisk], built by the [Integrated Enterprise Foundation].

Each school was supported by a branch of the Foundation. Their power, superior to the now fallen nations of times past, was sufficient even to warp and alter the law. Whether it be wealth, position, or prestige - nothing was beyond reach.

The students gathered to this Asterisk City, it was likely that almost half of them were here for the express purpose of realizing such dreams, attained only by winning in the Festa.

Even if they were not interested in the prize, many Genestellars – children of the Starpulse Generation – were eager to test the very limits of their ability. There was but one place in this world where they could legally do that, which was the Festa.

"Exactly. However, our school's performance in the Festa these past years has been anything but stellar."

Claudia's smile faded. Kirika could tell – it was a hint of frustration.

"Last season, we placed fifth in the overall rankings. With that said, the sixth-ranked Queen Veil are ranked by design only, the official rankings notwithstanding."

The Queen Veil Girl's Academy – the only academy which exclusively accepted girls in Asterisk. Kirika heard it was the smallest school in Asterisk, and required 'attractive charm' in addition to academic achievement and combat capacity in order to register.

That school didn't emphasize much on Festa victory. The IEF branch governing it seemed to ignore the overall ranking, instead it saw Festas as a place to draw out the charm of each individual students. It was only a given that they would rank last in every Festa seasons.

That being said, their students also tend to be very famous idols known across the world. The current student council president of Queen Veil, Sylvia Lyyneheym, was probably the single most popular female idol in history since the Invertia hit the Earth in the 20th century.

Of course, this meant that-

"The reality of things is that Seidoukan is currently last. This is not a situation we can allow to continue. For this purpose, we need every talented individual we can get our hands on. And as you already know, students only have the opportunity to participate in the Festa three times. Our current numbers are inadequate."

Although the Festa was described like a single competition, it was actually divided into three separate parts.

In the second trimester of the first year was the partner battle, [Phoenix Festa – Phoenician Star Warrior Festival].

In the third trimester of the second year was the team battle, [Gryps Festa – Griffon Star Warrior Festival].

And finally, in the fourth trimester of the third year was the individually fought [Lindwurm Festa – Dragon King Star Warrior Festival].

Those who performed well would be able to substitute their Festa scores in place of their traditional school grades, with their final point accumulation at the end of the Lindwurm as their grade.

Students might register for the Festa between the ages of 13 and 22, a period of 10 years between middle school to university. During this time, they might, of their own free will, choose to participate in any Festa, even if only a part thereof.

For example, there were students who would participate in all three Festa segments in one cycle, departing at the end of the three-year cycle, as well as those who, in their nine allotted years, would opt to take part in the Gryps or Lindwurm only.

The more excellent students, the better. Taking this attitude, each of the six schools spared no effort in seeking out the very best and brightest, leading students from all around the world to gather here.

Free tuition, living stipends, sponsored equipment; each of the six schools had its own methods for attracting students. From the point of view of these schools, these special invitees were to be had no matter what.

Honestly, Kirika thought it was a clever system.

 _Using combat schools to settle competitions between major economic branches_ _…_ _whoever built the system within IEF deserved a credit._

If only they were a little less greedy or corrupt, Kirika would praise them from the bottom of her heart.

"That explains why you bothered to look for information regarding my sister."

Kirika didn't say that out of arrogance or overconfidence. It was undeniable fact that she was one of those talented individuals the schools would seek.

To say otherwise would be offensive to the ones who had scouted her out. In this case, the student council president of Seidoukan, Claudia herself.

As if aware of the stealth appreciation, Claudia's smile returned to her lips.

"Indeed. Special invitee students such as yourself have several privileges. Aside from waived fees and the like, they also have priority access to the school's [Ogre Lux]."

"Ah… those wonders from outside of this world…?"

Kirika was pleasantly surprised. Among the meteorites that had fallen to the Earth during the Invertia, accompanying the unknown energy now known as [mana], was also the unique ore [manadyte].

A manadyte was the crystallization of the mana, and composed most of the meteors of Invertia. Although originally a limited resource, roughly 50 years ago scientists were able to artificially produce them by using the mana infused in the very atmosphere of the planet Earth.

Meteoric engineering research into mana and manadytes had paved the way for new industry, not the least of which was centered around their usage as an energy source for weapons. Weapons of this type were officially known as [Shining Type Armaments – Lux].

When charged with mana, manadytes would discharge the overloading energy into a physical form; the shape, size and quality of which would be predetermined by the 'memory' within them, which was in turn manipulated through mana reactions catalyzed by Genestellars.

As such, close range weapons were the simplest and most common form of Lux weaponry, such as Lux swords, Lux shields, Lux axes, Lux spears, etc.

The more advanced type of Lux weaponry would be capable of even more complicated mana materializations. Lux guns, for example, materialized the entire gun out of mana alone, before proceeding to catalyze mana reactions within the weapon to materialize its bullets.

Although Lux guns and Lux swords were almost functionally identical to actual swords and guns, they carried several obvious benefits such as the ease of storing, the lesser cost of production and maintenance resources, and all-around superior performance.

For this reason, for the most part, Lux weapons had replaced traditional weaponry since their mass production, and they had become popular enough to be used as more than just weaponry; including self-defense tools, children's toys, and various merchandises.

Among the types of manadytes, there was one of exceedingly high purity, and equally rare, composing the cores of some meteors of Invertia. These were the so-called [Ulm Manadytes].

Normal manadytes would be destroyed if it channeled mana beyond its admittedly high durability. Ulm Manadytes however were nigh-indestructible, and capable of withstanding enormous amounts of mana compared to manadytes of the same mass. It was like comparing the energy stored in an ordinary power plant with the energy of a nuke.

The only problem with using them was, they were sentient. Each Ulm Manadyte possessed its own unique personality. They were capable of harnessing mana and interact with their surroundings on their own.

Not helping matters was their ability to twist the laws of physics, causing supernatural phenomena which normally wouldn't even exist in this world. When combined with their innate power, it was really fitting to compare Ulm Manadytes with evil spirits or demonic entities.

Because of their personalities, the Ulm Manadytes really couldn't be used as anything else other than as weapons – assuming they were willing to allow themselves to be used to begin with, as cases of Ulm Manadytes attacking humans as a response of wishing to be left alone was not unheard of.

The type of armaments using the Ulm Manadytes as their core were officially known as [Pure Star Type Armaments – Ogre Lux]. However unlike the Lux, the designs of the Ogre Lux had minimal mana technology – this was because the Ulm Manadytes chose their own weapon forms, and thus mana control devices were unnecessary.

The vast majority of Ogre Lux weaponry originally belonged to the Integrated Enterprise Foundation for research purposes, although many of them were eventually given to the schools to be used by the students. This was because Ulm Manadytes were difficult to research to begin with.

That was what Haruka had said about them, and throughout her experience with them in recent years, Kirika found them to be true for the most part.

Raising a brow, Claudia seemed to sense the excitement in her voice.

"That is quite an eloquent way to put it. Are you familiar with them?"

"You can say that. I've heard you need to verify the compatibility with them first?"

All Ogre Luxes were self-aware. Thus, they chose their own owners.

Moreover, it was said those who used the Ogre Lux experienced 'change'.

"You could say it's the most important factor. Here at Seidoukan Academy, the minimum requirement is an eighty percent compatibility rating. Any lower than that, and we can't accommodate the wishes of the student in loaning out the item."

It was Kirika's turn to raise a brow.

"Eighty percent? How do you calculate compatibilities with an Ogre Lux?"

"By measuring the flow of mana around it. Don't worry, all schools have the technology to do so accurately."

That was a little unexpected. Among the many things she had learnt about the Ogre Lux, this was not one of them.

 _Still, this means it will be easier for me to get my hands on one._

"Claudia, do you have any recommendations about which available Ogre Lux should I try first?"

"Oh, about that, I think you should check this one first."

Claudia put an electronic tablet into the table, and it produced a hologram displaying a sword, or at least, something resembling one.

The hilt of the blade was rather large for a Lux sword, and it had a large handguard as well. The blade, however, was nothing more than a body of light in the shape of a unnaturally large blade.

On the description, it was named [Ser-Veresta], Demonic Sword of Black Furnace in contrast to its pure white blade.

"Black Furnace? Could it be color blindness is a common disorder in Asterisk?"

Kirika didn't hide her sarcasm for once to mock everyone who came up with that nickname. Claudia giggled lightly in response.

"It was named such since it will turn black when properly wielded by someone compatible."

"Is that so… then, may I ask why would you recommend this one?"

Claudia's expression turned serious.

"Anyone who wants to borrow an Ogre Lux would have to go through several procedures of registration, including special invitee students. However, the records of this Ogre Lux had been altered by an unknown party."

Kirika narrowed her eyes. She didn't need to be told what that meant.

"Are you telling me… this weapon was used by my sister?"

"That's a likely possibility. The school has investigated other weapons in our possession, but Ser-Veresta is the only one whose record has been tampered. Incidentally, when retracing the lost data, we found the picture I showed you this morning."

"…"

That meant, 5 years ago, as a Seidoukan student, sometime along the six months she was here, Haruka registered to use this weapon.

It was food for her thoughts, at least. Why would Haruka need an Ogre Lux? Why the Ser-Veresta in particular?

"In that case, I will take a look at it myself."

"I understand. I'll look into this more thoroughly and then notify you of my findings. But for now…"

The blonde turned her head to the entrance of the lounge, which prompted Kirika to do the same.

There was a rather tall, dark-haired woman dressed in a black-and-white French maid outfit walking toward them while pushing a food trolley. On it, there were several plates of food, still covered in food covers made of metal.

Claudia put her hands together and smiled.

"Let's have our lunch, shall we?"

* * *

 **Alright, Chapter 3 is done. How is it? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!**

 **Sorry it took me this long.** **Part of the reason it took this long was because a few weeks ago this chapter was almost finished, but then my computer decided to screw me over and deleted the file. I was sulking for a few days before I decided to type it again from scratch.**

 **But anyway, thank you for dropping by and following the development of** **"** **Asterisk Winter** **"** **!**


	4. Act 1, Chapter 4

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Unseen Hypotheses**

* * *

The snow had stopped falling this evening, she noticed.

Kirika didn't exactly mind that. This morning was enough, and since she was intending to go straight to the female dormitories, she would not be enjoying it even if it did snow.

Plus, she had more important matters to think about. Such as the lunch she just finished with Claudia roughly ten minutes ago: it was quite tasty.

Kirika had expected the food service for Claudia, the student council president, would be top-class. However, even with that in her mind, she was surprised – pleasantly of course – by the lunch provided.

Who would have guessed she would be getting some Wagyū beef as lunch? Granted, it was no longer as pricey as it was in Japan half a century ago, but it was still very much a traditional upper-class food among the Japanese cuisine even now.

To eat something like that for lunch, without paying anything for it, actually made her feel a little uncomfortable. It had once again proven that the Asterisk City really was built and funded by the most powerful international group in the world.

 _Though, the one I really should be grateful for is Claudia._

Claudia was the one who ordered the lunch in advance, after all. The president was a foreigner from the West, yet the blonde had purposefully ordered foods that were familiar to Kirika.

Most would probably call this common courtesy, but she appreciated acts of politeness more than the common folk.

Though, such friendly and thoughtful actions did leave Kirika pondering. Should she draw her conclusion about Claudia now?

There was absolutely no doubt that Claudia had taken a certain interest in her person, and now intent on befriending her.

But was the intention behind it sincere?

Student council presidents were figures of authority in the Asterisk City. If they were to be compared with governmental figures, the closest equivalent would be a 'Head Director of Intelligence Agency' with all the implications.

They commanded the combat academies from the spotlight and from within the dark. They gathered manpower and information against each other. They also had to protect the stability of the overall system, eliminating anyone who tried to defy.

It went without saying that, to even sit in such position, one had to be ruthless, manipulative, and opportunistic. Ready to take advantage of anything exploitable, and discard liabilities as soon as one was able to.

Claudia was that kind of person, and of this Kirika had zero doubt. When someone like that suddenly decided to be friendly to a stranger, it would be unnatural.

It was a logical assumption that it was not sincere. Such a thought process was common sense. That being said, Claudia was human.

Kirika could imagine it in her mind. Claudia had said she had been the student council president for three terms – there was no need to lie about such things – which meant the girl was early in her teens when she decided to put herself through the trials and tribulations necessary to reach her position of power.

If a girl of such a young age was forced to deny her conscience to become ruthless, lock away her heart to become manipulative, and rack her mind to consistently look for opportunities… The result would be rather tragic to behold.

Of course, this was under the assumption that Claudia was not some kind of sociopath since her childhood, in which case this friendliness was definitely not sincere.

"…"

In the end, the analysis was still inconclusive. It would be more productive to ponder about the matter later, with more information.

Clearing her thoughts, Kirika once again took note of her surroundings as she could finally see the girl's dormitory in her sight.

From the front, the female dormitories actually looked larger than when observed from behind the building. The entrance was a rather mundane fence gate that were colored white just like the fence itself, but there was a small garden decorating the courtyard.

The dormitory itself looked rather ordinary and classical compared to the school buildings – it resembled a fairly large Western hotel than anything else. The walls were red, the windows were rectangular and uniform, and there were white stairways across the whole front of the building.

"…Hum?"

There was someone on the stairs.

It was a feminine figure with the Seidoukan student uniform, and a long, rose-colored pink hair. Kirika didn't need two glances to know who it was.

Julis van Riessfeld.

Inwardly, Kirika smiled. Did the princess take the hint, after all? It seemed Julis had anticipated ahead of time that she would go to the dorm first after the school.

Julis seemed to notice her as well, judging from the way she suddenly crossed her arms.

Despite her realization though, Kirika kept her expression blank and her walking pace slow and relaxed. Even if she knew Julis was waiting for her, she didn't have an obligation to make it obvious.

Casually strolling through the gate and the garden of the courtyard, Kirika kept focusing on Julis' figure, who returned the favor with a calm, calculated gaze of her own.

As the distance between them narrowed, it became apparent to Kirika that Julis really was a perpetual frowner – her cyan eyes and her curved lips left the impression of someone who seemed serious all the time.

 _Though I don't exactly reserve the right to comment about that._

For someone like her, who had even counted how many times she smiled in a day, it would be hypocritical to chide others about their behavior.

Opening her mouth, Kirika halted just as she reached the stairs, a few steps before Julis.

"You have been waiting for me."

Apparently expecting her to speak in German again, Julis raised a brow a bit, before she opened her mouth.

"After what you said in the class, I am expecting a talk. Or am I mistaken?"

Kirika shook her head slowly. From the serious tone of voice, it seemed Julis didn't want more ambiguity from her.

"No, you are not. I do have something to say to you. Though, I imagine you have a few things to talk about, first."

It was not a question, it was a statement. Julis sighed, as if she was embarrassed to admit it.

"…Yes. I think it was a mistake for me to confront you in the midst of the class like that. You don't like attention, do you?"

That deduction was spot on.

 _So, you are actually pretty sharp if your temper isn't tempered with._

Kirika respected people with keen insight, though she supposed this was to be expected of a princess.

The damage was already done, though - Kirika was already forced to talk with Julis in the midst of class, and in German at that. That would already fuel rumors about them knowing each other.

But there was no use crying over spilt milk. She didn't care about most rumors, and even though it was convenient to stay under the radar, attention would be inevitably upon her sooner or later.

Kirika nodded in affirmation, prompting Julis to speak again.

"That explains why you ignored me. Is it that easy to tell that I am strangely popular in this school?"

 _Strangely popular?_

Kirika had to raise a brow at that word.

Was Julis underestimating her own qualities, or the weirdness of the masses?

"Why don't you ask yourself?"

She pointed a finger at the princess.

"Excuse me?"

Julis appeared confused by her words. It seemed that she had to spell this out.

Like a mother scolding a child, Kirika put her hands on her hips.

"You are beautiful like a blooming young rose. You are strong enough to be among the best twelve warriors in this school. You are also the first princess of an entire nation. What exactly makes it strange for you to be popular?"

Kirika made sure to stress every adjective she mentioned.

There was a single moment of shock forming on Julis' face, before her cheeks rapidly became red.

That expression suited her age, and for once, she actually looked like a normal, if flustered, young woman.

"W-what are you saying all of a sudden?! Are you making fun of me?"

Although her reaction was amusing, Kirika didn't really want it to sound like a flattery.

She described what she perceived. No more, no less. With that in mind, Kirika sighed.

"When a girl says another girl is beautiful. She means it."

Julis appeared to consider that for a moment, before she coughed to regain her composure.

"…I suppose I should thank you."

The princess was trying to sound dignified, but it was a failure.

The half-hearted frown on her lips just gave it away.

"A-anyway, we digress! I want to ask you something."

Apparently realizing that she was being painfully scrutinized, Julis quickly raised her tone and changed the subject.

Kirika merely waved her hand in return, as to gesture 'ask away'.

"Are you..." Julis hesitated for a second. "…from the United Land of Germany? I know your name is Japanese, but you really don't look like one. Your German could pass for a native, too."

It was not the first time Kirika had her nationality questioned, and it would probably be far from the last.

While her own facial features were Asian, it was easy to overlook that seeing her tall stature – her body was taller than most women her age – and because of Genestellar mutation, her hair and her irises had mutated their colors into shades which were decidedly not even human.

Still, what was factual should be enforced.

"No, I am a hundred-percent Japanese. I know I don't look like one, but I am."

"Huh... Forgive me for asking something personal, but then why did you learn German? These days, it really doesn't have any use outside of my country."

What Julis said was true. Only English and perhaps Latin had seen continued usage in international affairs since the Integrated Foundation Enterprise took control of the majority of the world.

That being said, the reason Kirika studied German was because–

 _Sasamiya Saya_.

Just thinking of that name made her smile unconsciously. Not enough for anyone but herself to notice, but…

 _Fifth time already in the first day, eh?_

It surpassed her initial expectations. It was a surprisingly comfortable thought.

Well, since she was in a good mood, telling Julis about Saya wouldn't hurt, Kirika supposed.

"A friend of mine lives in Berlin. I haven't seen her for years by now, and I plan to visit her some time. I want to surprise her by learning German."

Julis opened her eyes wide. "Wait, are you serious?"

Kirika raised a brow. "I am. What makes you ask that?"

"You learned an **entire language** just to surprise a friend? Is this friend unable to speak with you otherwise?"

The princess was almost shouting, but Kirika didn't understand why.

 _Was that even a question?_

"No, of course she can. She can speak Japanese and English like me."

"Then why did you even bother to learn German in the first place?"

"I just want to surprise her."

Julis stared at her, apparently expecting her to elaborate for more reasons.

However, after seeing her didn't speak further, the princess palmed her face.

"God, you are actually serious…"

Kirika merely rolled her eyes.

It might be indeed overkill for most people to learn an entire language just to surprise a friend, but she was not 'most people'.

It seemed as though Julis were part of those people, though.

"Don't be so surprised. Don't you have people for whom you would do anything for?"

Kirika had expected Julis to say 'no' but much to her surprise, the princess snapped her eyes open and gazed at her intensely.

It was not an angry reaction either, it was something like… an affirmation. A way to test one's own resolve.

"Yes. I certainly do. That's why I am here."

The words came out calm, but Kirika could sense the determination underneath the composure.

The intent behind every word was so clear that she could almost physically feel it, through prana projected by the speaker.

 _Hmm… so this princess hides steel beneath the silk._

This wasn't something Kirika expected of Julis, but it was a welcome turn of events for her curious mind. More things to ponder about.

"If I may ask, what is it that you seek here?"

"I did ask something personal from you, so I will return the favor. I only seek money."

Kirika narrowed her eyes. Money?

Any nation under the IEF's influence should be fed with a steady amount of funds in order to pacify their governments and keep them in check. It was how the Foundation had kept their power over most of the world in the last century, after all.

As the first princess of Lieseltania, a small nation under the United Land of Germany managed by two different branches of the IEF, she should not have any problems concerning wealth. Why would Julis need even more money?

While she was in thought, Julis took her silence as a sign to continue.

"Fighting here and winning the Festa is the quickest way to amass wealth. Seizing the crown of victory of all three events… that is my goal."

Now Kirika became skeptical. Winning all three Festas?

Partner battles, team battles and individual battles all had different requirements, abilities and forms of combat to master.

To think one could win all three without an immense amount of experience or power was both arrogant and naive.

Though, the rumors said winning just one of those events was enough for an entire lifetime's assurance of money. Julis' motivation was probably not personal greed then.

"To pull off a 'grand slam'? Are you aware how small your chances are?"

It was borderline mockery, but Julis accepted her words without retaliation.

"I am aware. But at the very least, I intend to win the Phoenix Festa. I need the money from that."

The steel in those words was not lost on Kirika. Julis was very serious about getting money. For what purpose, it was not clear yet.

 _Interesting_ _…_

It seemed Julis was not just a mere Genestellar trying to compete in this wretched hive to perpetuate the system. In fact, the princess seemed to be an interesting existence. She should be analyzed further.

Luckily, Julis didn't seem anything like Claudia, who was very good at hiding her true nature and intentions. In comparison to the student council president, this princess was almost like an open book.

 _I suppose going with_ _'_ _that_ _'_ _as my favor is a good idea, after all._

The thought made Kirika quite, quite excited. She had to suppress the urge to lick her own lips in anticipation.

In the end, even a place as wretched as this academy could bring an amusing experience, it seemed.

"Julis."

It was the first time Kirika had called the name to the owner's face, and she had skipped formality straight to the first name basis.

It was somewhat rude and perhaps she was being too personal, but Kirika didn't care at the moment.

"Eh?"

Surprised at the sudden mention of her first name, Julis let a dumbfounded sound escape her lips.

"The thing I want to say… is a favor to ask."

It was a follow up on Julis' promise this morning, and Kirika was sure Julis still recalled the event very clearly, that much was clear from that 'oh' expression.

"You have already decided on one? The favor I owe you isn't something trivial. Anything up to a reasonable degree is okay, you know?"

Those words made Kirika almost chuckle. Did Julis actually want to interact with her that much? How amusingly dishonest.

 _Don_ _'_ _t worry, Julis. I think I will be around you a lot._

"I have already thought of it, and I am fully aware of who I am talking with. Because it is you, I can ask this favor."

Kirika placed her hand on her chest, where the Seidoukan Academys's school badge – actually a small piece of machinery powered by a small manadyte, decorated with the emblem 'red lotus' as befitting the Academy's name - was placed.

"I wish to challenge you to a duel."

Julis' eyes bulged in surprise, and her jaw dropped open.

"Duel…?"

As Julis muttered that word in surprise, the school badge on her chest as well as Kirika's emitted a red light, as if responding.

The Artificial Water City - Rikka, which floated on a huge crater-lake located in North Kanto, was the stage known as Asterisk held once a year; the students from each of the six Academies wielded weapons in an extreme competition for supremacy.

The Festa, or the Star War Festival was a type of battle entertainment, boasting the world's largest fan population. Of course, this did not mean that it was a fight to the death.

In accordance with these rules, it was stipulated in the agreement called [Stella Carta] – the Star Wars Charter, but long story short, it said that 'the person who destroys the school badge of their opponent wins'.

Although intentional cruelty was prohibited, if there was the purpose of weakening an opponent's combat efficiency, attacks to any place other than the school badge were permitted, and since weapons were used, there would naturally be injured people.

There were occasionally also cases when it didn't end with just injuries. Nonetheless, that young people still came from all over the world to this city was due to the fact that it was only here that they could hope to fulfill their wish.

And, the opportunity for them to fight was not only in the Festa.

If hot-blooded young men and women confident in their ability gathered in the same place, quite a few troubles would be expected to occur. In such cases, private wars (personal struggles) in conformity with rules were permitted in Asterisk.

That was the duel.

Though victory or defeat was decided by destroying the school badge as in the Festa, the reinforced school badge also contained the data processing functions, performed the duel application negotiation, the combat data transfer, and so on with the host computer.

Especially in a duel between students belonging to the same Academy, given that the rank would change depending on the result – victory or defeat – there was a meaning beyond just a private battle.

Though for Kirika, all of those were meaningless. What she wanted was–

"Yes, a duel. That's what I ask of you, to accept my challenge."

Recovering from her daze, Julis' body tensed – as if she was ready for an attack at any second – and her expression turned serious.

"I don't intend to refuse, but why do you suddenly want to duel me? If it is a duel request, you don't need any favors from me."

It was faint, but Kirika could still hear the hint of bewilderment in her tone.

 _I should elaborate, then._

It would not do to fight against a hesitating opponent, after all.

"Don't misunderstand. It has always been my intention since I came here… to find out about the power of the Page Ones."

That was not a lie, although it was far from her main intentions.

Hearing her statement, Julis had an understanding expression in her face, but she didn't lower her guard.

"I see. You wish to gauge the Page Ones by challenging me, who stands at roughly the middle point of the top twelve?"

"Correct. However, let me make it clear; I have no interest for the rankings, or to attract others with our duel. Because you stand to gain nothing from this, think of it as a favor from me."

The princess narrowed her eyes at this.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. We will duel with no strings attached, it will not affect our ranks, and it will not be recorded by anyone. It will be a duel known to only the both of us."

At those words, Julis became exasperated.

"That's impossible. We cannot duel anywhere in this academy without being seen, and our badges are connected to the school's database."

The princess pointed to the badge in her chest.

"You see this red light? It is a sign that the school's computer has already accepted your request and is about to start a duel, it is just waiting for the confirmation of our names."

Kirika had to resist the urge to mock her. Did she really think she didn't know that?

"I am aware. But the system is neither foolproof nor perfect."

Turning around, Kirika walked to the opposite direction of the dormitory.

"Follow me, Julis."

"Wait! Where are we going?"

"The lake behind our dormitory."

* * *

Julis was now sure, that today was indeed **the** most unusual day in her life.

When Kirika scolded her in the class earlier – in her own language, no less – Julis could feel astonishment and shame mixing into one within herself.

Once again, she had instantly assumed the worst out of someone who was only trying to remain under the radar. She should have known better about the downsides of being the center of attention, yet she allowed her temper to burst out of perceived rudeness.

When Julis thought about it, Kirika probably didn't intend to offend her this morning, either. The lack of obvious emotion and the tendency not to speak unless needed was not Kirika being dismissive of Julis, but simply because that was normal for her.

It was rude, yes, but not for any particularly unpleasant reasons. If anything, the white-haired girl was just **very** peculiar. Certainly odd, but not malicious.

In comparison to that, Julis had been nothing but intolerable in her treatment of Kirika since the moment they met.

 _And to make the exact same mistake to the exact same person twice in a row in the exact same day_ _…_ _ahhhh! What am I, some sort of a child?!_

…For some reason, Julis had a foreboding feeling that events like today would be repeated quite a lot in the future.

Still, this was no time to think about those things.

Right now, her mind was stuck on the duel challenge Kirika had issued to her. To say it was surprising for her would be an understatement.

It was not that the request itself was strange – this was a combat academy, to challenge and be challenged were the norm. However, for Kirika, who had made her disgust with attention very clear, it was completely unexpected.

The transfer student said it was because she was curious about the Page Ones… but was it the truth? Or rather, was it the whole truth? Most likely, that was not all there was to it.

 _There is something more to her words_ _…_ _but what is it?_

In addition, she said something about the recording system of the school being imperfect. Did that mean Kirika was about to sabotage it to ensure their duel would not be witnessed?

Julis was not exactly a fan of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation and their international governing system, much less obeying the rules of this school.

However, it did make her curious, to see how Kirika would get around the school system, and how Claudia would respond to this.

"Alright…"

The soft, melodious voice of Kirika's halted her thoughts.

Snapping back to reality, Julis found herself standing right before the lake behind the female dormitory, which was coincidentally the location she had first met Kirika.

Julis noticed that Kirika was about to, just like this morning, step onto the lake's surface. Immediately, she decided to focus her attention.

As a Genestellar, Julis could sense the mana in the environment and the prana within Genestellars alike. When a Genestellar wanted to use abilities beyond what their enhanced physicality could offer, they would use their prana to interact with the mana in the environment to manipulate the laws of physics to an extent and achieve their desired result.

 _If I could see the process_ _…_ _maybe I would find what I was lacking._

As if on cue, as soon as the prana on the soles of Kirika's shoes were about to touch the surface water, the water's mana seemed to concentrate, and within milliseconds – Julis wouldn't have been able to see it if her eyes were that of a normal human's – the surface of the lake around her feet became still and tranquil, despite the wind.

 _So my theory about manipulating the surface tension was right_ _…_

Although slightly joyful that her theory was right, Julis didn't change her expression as Kirika once again proved her mastery over prana control by ambling to the center of the lake.

Much to Julis' surprise, once Kirika reached the center, she descended to her left knee, and placed her left hand on the surface of the lake.

In just a few seconds, without warning, the whole body of the lake glowed brightly; a brilliant shade of azure. It was nowhere near bright enough to blind her, and Julis could feel her body relax as the light of the lake bathed her, even through her clothing.

The light faded as soon as it came to being however, and soon after both the warmth and the light disappeared from the lake, as if nothing ever happened. As though she was done, Kirika stood back up, and walked back to her direction.

Without even thinking, Julis voiced her curiosity.

"What did you do?"

"You will see. Though, you will need this."

Kirika took out something from her skirt pocket, and gently threw it at her direction.

By reflex, Julis caught it perfectly with her left hand.

"This is… a case for glasses?"

Judging from its shape, it was a case made of leather, intended to store a pair of glasses. Out of curiosity, she decided to open it.

Unexpectedly, the glasses were quite cute-looking – the frames were black with silvery snowflake patterns, and both the frames and the lenses looked like it had been polished every day – and it was quite large, probably to accommodate for different eye sizes.

It seemed Kirika had a preference for snow and winter-themed accessories, judging from this design. Probably to match her appearance?

 _I guess it will be cute if she wears it, but_ _…_

What was Kirika's intention by giving this to her?

As if she was reading her mind, Kirika answered. "You will need it to see through the fog."

Julis raised a brow. "Fog? What do you…"

Soon after that, Julis suddenly felt chill, which caused her to trail off.

For some reason, the temperature near the lake seemed to have lowered drastically; even more inexplicably, behind Kirika, mist began to form from the lake.

It was barely visible at first, but in seconds, the fog gradually became thicker, and the scenery beyond the lake were disappearing at an alarming rate.

"...What is this?"

"This is a lake with a high concentration of mana. Catalyzing a chain reaction for it to rapidly lower its temperature and produce fog are simple matters once you know what to do."

She supposed that made sense – so this was the extent of Kirika's abilities.

If the fog was produced this fast, then it would cover the entire female dormitory in just a few minutes.

That meant, no one would be able to see anything happening here unless the fog was cleared. But still–

"But, it would not stop our school badge from recording our duel, wouldn't it?"

Kirika shook her head.

"It would. Our school badge is connected to the host computer the school controls through wireless signal… this mana-concentrated fog will disrupt it."

The implications behind those words were not lost on Julis. That meant–

Kirika finished her thoughts. "Although someone like Claudia would probably be able to tell someone had taken advantage of this fog, no one will be able to trace it to us, and no one will witness our duel."

Julis stared at her surroundings. The fog had already reached the small forest separating the female dormitory and the lake behind Kirika.

"Then… these glasses are?"

"Like I said, for visibility."

Nonchalantly, Kirika took out another pair of identical-looking glasses from her other skirt pocket.

"Once it gets thick enough, even we wouldn't be able to see beyond two or three meters ahead of us. These glasses would allow us to see through the fog."

Quickly, she brushed the strands of the snow white hair around her forehead with a hand, and pushed the glasses to her face with another.

Julis had to pause at the result – as she had expected, the glasses seemed to frame Kirika's face perfectly, but for some reason, it seemed like her eyes had magically transformed.

Since their first meeting, Kirika's eyes always seemed to be dull and unfeeling – which coincidentally reminded her of Orphelia's – almost as if the owner was coldhearted and uncaring of its surroundings.

But now, her gaze had a certain light to them – it seemed more relaxed, as if the blankness it once had was now filled with something akin to joy or amusement.

The impression was different. Very different. Kirika looked closer to her age now, and she actually seemed more…

 _Innocent? Is that it?_

Julis really wasn't sure-

"Hump. Like what you see?"

The sudden question startled her almost like a lightning bolt.

Julis was flabbergasted. There was even an unmistakable teasing tone in her voice now! Did Kirika just turn on some sort of a switch?

"W-what, so you are not some kind of robot, after all."

…That didn't make sense, why did she stutter?

As if she was seeing through Julis' mind, Kirika's eyes suddenly looked as if it was all-knowing. Infuriatingly so.

"Beep, boop."

 _Okay, that_ _'_ _s it._

Kirika was definitely making fun of her.

"Don't tease me! You are not a robot!"

"Hehehe."

That actually made Julis halt. She couldn't decide whether to feel annoyed or delighted at that cute giggling sound. It reminded her of children much younger than themselves.

"I am **not** sorry."

…She didn't know whether it was the smug unapologetic tone, or the unnecessary emphasis in the sentence, or the bright look on Kirika's face which made her mad.

Probably all three.

"You will be, once I am done with you."

Julis would make sure of that. She didn't care if Kirika had displayed an ability on par with, or perhaps above her level. It was a duel, after all. And regardless of who her opponent was, Julis had no intention of losing.

Kirika's expression turned surprisingly feral – her glasses glistened, and her small smile turned into a toothy grin – as if she had been waiting for those words.

"You are ready for our duel, then?"

Kirika gestured to their surroundings, which had already been flooded with the gray because of both the fog and the gloomy winter sky. Julis couldn't even see the lake behind Kirika anymore.

As soon Julis put the glasses on her face however, the fog suddenly became something different – it was almost like the fog had transformed into a thin, see-through fabric.

The lake looked like it was burning brightly with mana, and the fog looked almost identical to smoke coming out of a furnace.

It was a surreal sight, to say the least. What did this Lux actually do? Infuse light with mana to pierce the mana-infused fog?

"Amazing… I didn't know there is a Lux of this type. These glasses are Luxes, right?"

"Yes. Now… shall we?"

Kirika widened her arms as she took a few steps away from her. Julis didn't need to be told what that meant, and she did the same.

Once they reached a reasonable distance from each other, Julis saw that Kirika was not idle.

No, she was bouncing up and down a little. On closer loo, her feet was indeed tiptoeing in place.

She was impatient. Perhaps even excited. There was no trace of the nearly emotionless girl from a few minutes ago on her now.

It was, in a word, exhilarating. The excitement was contagious. For some odd reason, Julis felt the tell-tale of excitement, too.

 _What… are her intentions, really?_

This duel definitely had a deeper meaning beyond simply a test of strength.

Julis felt like she had to know. The feeling bothered her as much as it interested her.

"I will add conditions to this duel."

"Go ahead."

If Kirika was surprised, she didn't show any signs of it. The response was almost automatic.

"The loser will have to obey one of the winner's orders."

"Hump."

Kirika let out a hum that sounded more amused than anything.

"I don't mind. I will have you do me another favour if I win, then."

The way Kirika said it was… ominous-sounding, for some reason.

"I accept."

"I expect nothing less. Now then…"

Kirika took a deep breath.

"I, Amagiri Kirika, hereby challenge you, Julis Alexia van Riessfeld, to a duel."

Her declaration was surprisingly calm.

Judging from how excited Kirika looked, Julis was almost expecting her to yell at the top of her lungs.

There was no need to comment on that, though. She didn't care about how it was delivered either way.

"I, Julis Alexia van Riessfeld, accepted the duel request of Amagiri Kirika."

* * *

 **Heheh, how was it? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!**

 **It has been a while since the last time I updated this, and you might notice that this fic** **'** **s status had been elevated from SIDE FIC to MAIN FIC. This is because the story turns out to be useful for my skills, and I decided to give it more thoughts.**

 **This fanfiction would be quite extensive, and likely adapt the entirety of the novels plus some more. However, the main purpose of this fic would be a testbed for several characters and plotlines of my own creation. Let this be your warning: although not soon, this fic will introduce large numbers of Original Characters over time for this purpose.**

 **Similarly, future arcs would have different events due to the presence of several OCs. In fact, there will be completely original arcs regarding events of both past and future. While I have confidence in writing OCs, some people simply dislike fanfic stories with too many OCs on principle, and if so, I respect that, which is why I give a warning in advance.**

 **On a different matter, it has been a while since I wrote for fanfics and while Kirika is my own character (thus I have absolute confidence in writing her), Julis is not, so you can point out any Out of Character Alert that she had displayed in this chapter. I have been rusty after all, due to exams and assignments and life in general.**

 **Well, that** **'** **s all I have to say. Thank you for following the development of** **'** **Asterisk Winter** **'** **so far!**


	5. Act 1, Chapter 5

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Blooming Rose Observation**

* * *

"I, Julis Alexia van Riessfeld, accepted the duel request of Amagiri Kirika."

The atmosphere between herself and her opponent had immediately tensed.

Julis could feel it as soon as she finished her formal acceptance of the duel request.

"Heh heh heh."

Whether the chill she felt was because of the dense, cold fog around them, or because of something else hidden beneath that unnerving giggle, Julis didn't know, but she was leaning toward the latter.

No, on second thought, it was definitely because of Kirika. Even through the Lux glasses, Julis could see it. The gaze behind Kirika's own lenses had become predatory.

Even with the distance between them – roughly 10 meters, which was the standard range for duels between the students – Julis felt Kirika was much, much closer.

On instinct, her right hand reached for the holder on the left part of her skirt uniform.

Feeling the intimate weight of the hilt-shaped Shining Type Armament within her grasp was enough to restore her confidence. Without wasting any second, Julis pressed its trigger as she drew the weapon out.

It only took an instant for the emerald manadyte on the weapon's tip to react, and her Lux [Aspera Spina] was formed. Her personal weapon; a blade made of thin, flexible, crimson-dyed sword of materialized mana.

Satisfied at its activation, Julis posed her blade at her opponent, her stance just as refined as practiced.

At her challenge, Kirika faced her with an expression that reminded Julis of a hunter sizing up its prey.

"A crimson red blade in the form of a royal rapier, huh. Quite fitting for a princess."

The way the soft voice described her was a little surprising. That was… unnecessarily eloquent of Kirika.

Before she could comment though, Kirika straightened her posture, and hid both of her arms behind her.

Julis had to raise her brow this time. It was an unexpected and rather strange pose.

Then, Kirika suddenly outstretched her arms, her entire body forming a cross... with a small, sapphire-like gem in her right hand.

It was obvious what it was, but that only created more questions.

 _A blue manadyte… did she hide it under her sleeves?_

Manadytes were naturally green, but their color could be changed through certain processes.

That meant Kirika's manadyte were customized. What was more peculiar was, it was just a manadyte.

 _Nothing else? Is that supposed to be her weapon?_

In order for a manadyte to materialize into various weapons as a Lux, the manadyte had to go through certain processes to 'memorize' a certain element pattern to form materials of various forms and quality.

After that, they were attached to activation tools, which served to agitate the manadyte and materialize its full form. Her own Aspera Spina had a moderately-sized one in the form of a hilt equipped with handguards, for example.

Julis was curious, but she had a feeling Kirika was not done yet.

Her hunch was proven right soon after; the manadyte in Kirika's hand suddenly glowed. A sign of it receiving mana.

"…Eh?"

Legitimate surprise made her eyes widen. In an instant, the gem had transformed into a sword.

'Beautiful' was not a word Julis would use for a weapon, but what Kirika held in her hand resembled a ceremonial tool in her kingdom more than a weapon.

It had an elongated cylindrical hilt, and a double-edged blade which became narrower the closer it was to the tip. The entirety of the sword was composed of saturated, translucent blue identical to an actual sapphire.

How could a simple manadyte became something like that?

… _No, not transformed._

Upon closer inspection, Julis could still see the manadyte inside the sword's hilt, although it was nearly obscured by Kirika's fingers.

The manadyte had not transformed. It simply had materialized a sword in its entirety, the hilt included.

 _Ah, that's how it is._

What Kirika did to the lake earlier clearly showed that her ability to control her body's prana was superb, and she had no problems manipulating its interaction with the surrounding mana.

Anyone with that level of personal ability wouldn't need activation tools to materialize their weapon. They could simply switch the manadyte on and off with their prana.

Julis tensed her muscles, preparing herself. She could already imagine the number of advantages that would offer, both in and out of combat. There was little doubt Kirika could think of more, being the owner of such an ability.

"Let's duel."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the meek, yet powerful declaration from her opponent.

It was clear now that it was the true beginning of their duel.

Kirika's face had a gentle smile, but her ravenous gaze took away any impression of mercy or sincerity conveyed through it.

Suddenly, her opponent elegantly posed the gleaming blade forwards – much to her own surprise.

The pose mirrored her own stance with her rapier.

Julis narrowed her eyes. Even without words, that gesture couldn't mean anything else other than a challenge.

Unfortunately, Julis was not so easily tricked. That was a rather bold attempt to bait her into melee range, she had to admit.

"Taunting me, are you?"

Making it clear that she saw through the bait, Julis concentrated her mind on the prana within herself.

Kirika had tried to taunt her into melee range. That meant, she was most likely well-trained in close quarters combat.

 _Then!_

She simply had to attack from a distance.

"Come into bloom!"

Chanting her favorite catch-phrase, she poured her prana to the sword in her hand.

Kirika's eyes narrowed sharply behind her glasses, but Julis didn't pay heed to it.

Even average Genestellars could tell when [magic] was being performed, anyway.

"[Longiflorum]!"

Swinging her blade like a baton, Julis shouted the name of a lily flower.

In the next instant, the prana released through her Aspera Spina immediately went through a transformation.

The coldness from the fog around her was immediately replaced with warmth, as four circles made of supernatural flames manifested in the air around her.

It was far from her strongest magical attack, but Longiflorum was the most suited technique to tread the unknown depths of an enemy's skill and abilities. With that in her mind–

 _Let's see how you handle this!_

Julis focused her entire attention to the enemy ahead of her.

Reacting to her thought process, the rings of fire turned into trumpet lily flowers made of flames, streamlined and sharpened to form deadly spears.

The process barely took a second before the flaming projectiles violently propelled themselves toward Kirika with all the momentum of small rockets.

"…"

Much to her surprise, there was no hint of worry in her opposition. Kirika took a step back, and swung her left arm, as if she was slapping thin air.

Julis frowned. What was she-

"!?"

Without any warning, the rocketing flame flowers suddenly burst into fiery explosions – midflight, nowhere near Kirika's position.

"H-How?"

Her Longiflorum flowers were supposed to react when it came into contact with solid bodies or mana signatures it didn't recognize, such as the prana within an enemy's body.

Since Julis had taken into account the mana-infused fog around them, the projectiles should not explode prematurely. But they clearly did. It was as if they had hit an invisible wall–

 _No! I mustn't let my guard down!_

Julis wanted to chide herself, but there was no time. With a movement that was more of a blur than anything else, Kirika had already run past the scattering flames.

She was terrifyingly fast. Within a blink of an eye, the white-haired swordswoman was already right before Julis, her two hands gripping the crystal sword in front, poised to stab.

 _What speed!_

Julis could almost feel her own pupils dilate as the blade was only inches away from hitting her school badge and possibly even impale her chest, but she wouldn't allow either to become reality.

"Bloom!"

Her Aspera Spina was not exactly the best type of sword for defensive counters, meaning she had to dodge.

Leaning her body so far backwards that she lost her balance, Julis watched as the crystal blade missed her face by a hair's breadth.

Kirika was't deterred at all however, she merely raised her sword with both hands, ready to pin her down with an overhead slash.

However, Julis was already aware her dodge would make her fall onto her back. That would leave her at the mercy of her opponent.

So, she had no intention to let it happen.

 _Now!_

"[Strelitzia]!"

As soon as she finished her chant with a different flower name, her body directed prana from her back and her feet, and wings made of fire sprouted forth from the prana released.

Now with a pair of large wings near her back and a much smaller pair on the sides of her shoes, Julis accelerated above the ground with a burst of flames from both pairs of her wings, widening the distance between her and Kirika.

The swordswoman's face showed surprise, but she was otherwise unfazed by the sudden counterattack from Julis' feet. Kirika merely jumped away from the flames by a few meters, unscathed.

Julis wanted to scowl at that, but Kirika's expression stopped her.

"…Wings?"

Her voice, eyes and face in a perfect sync of a restrained, yet definite surprise, Kirika's posture straightened as she stared at Julis.

Normally, she would take some satisfaction from being able to surprise her opponents, particularly stoic ones such as this particular opponent. But for now, Julis only felt relief from successfully avoiding an early defeat.

As the distance between them reached 18 or so meters, Julis fixed her position into an upright position, and landed her feet to the ground. Not missing a beat, she also cut off the prana released from her body to dispel the large wings on her back.

Strelitzia was an incredibly useful technique, but it consumed her prana reserves continuously. There was no reason to keep the wings unless they were necessary.

That being said, against an enemy as fast as Kirika, she would the need extra acceleration to avoid her – thus she kept the smaller wings on her feet.

Kirika seemed to notice them as well, from the way her eyes darted downwards.

"That shape, the 'bird of paradise' flower?"

Julis raised a brow. She recognized the form of her flame flowers?

Then, as if she just completed a piece of puzzle together, Kirika let out a delighted 'aha'.

"I see! You are a Strega, commanding magic with the imageries of flames and flowers!"

For some reason, Kirika became oddly… cheerful, pointing that out.

Any self-respecting Genestellar could piece it together – even among their kind, a race of new humans with phenomenal physical abilities and ability to interact with mana, someone like Julis was a rarity.

Magic-users – known as [Strega] for females, and [Dante] for males – Genestellars who could link mana in the environment with their own flesh and blood, which granted them certain abilities to bend the laws of physics beyond mana interaction, or in fantastic terms, magic.

Although very rare to develop and only made up 3.6% of all Genestellars, Julis felt it was not anything special. They could perform magic, sure, but magic was simply additional abilities for one to use. Magic-users didn't have increased prana capacity or anything.

In other words, whether or not owning magic would help you become stronger, it depended on your skill and experience in making use of them.

Still, for Kirika to immediately recognize the motif Julis used to imagine her magical techniques, that meant the swordswoman not only knew about how magic worked–

"You are well-informed about flowers, too?"

It was not really a question, Julis could tell by this point. However, Kirika's face brightened, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! They are part of what makes nature beautiful, aren't they? More people need to appreciate the simpler things, such as the unseen, but certain growth of a small bud of flower."

Julis felt her heart leapt.

 _Those words…_

A wave of nostalgia swept over her heart.

" _You like flowers, Orphelia?"_

" _Yes, I love them so much! They are part of what makes nature so beautiful! I wish everyone can appreciate the simpler things, like the growth of a small bud. We cannot see it, but we know it is trying its best to bloom into a beautiful flower…"_

…It was almost exactly what Orphelia had answered her with.

The realization made her feel melancholic, but Julis steeled her focus.

The one before her was not Orphelia, her best friend. It was Kirika, who maybe – just maybe, at the moment – would become her friend, but at the moment she was an opponent in a duel.

 _Still, do all florists share the same feelings for flowers, or something? For two different people to answer so similarly for one question…_

It gave her mixed feelings, but it was definitely a wonder.

"Although I agree with you, now isn't the time to discuss such things. Come into bloom!"

Julis resumed the fight with another chant, and although she appeared relaxed, Kirika too raised her sword to eye level with her right hand.

"What is it this time, princess? Daisies? Anemones? Primroses?"

There was no hint of mockery in Kirika's curious inquiry, and perhaps she was just listing off the flowers from the top of her head.

However, it certainly felt like she was taunting her. Was this another of Kirika's peculiar quirks? What an odd fellow.

 _But now I know how good you are. There is no need to hold back!_

"[Amaryllis]!"

As if responding to the large amount of prana she released, the air let out a loud roar as a huge flame flower the size of a small room bloomed into existence.

The swordswoman's face became confused.

"The flower of… shyness? For a fireball that big?"

Julis had to resist chuckling at the way Kirika's eyes comically widened behind those glasses. It seemed she was truly more expressive with the glasses on.

"Unfortunately, in the Victorian language of flowers, this one means 'pride'. Seems the Japanese read it differently."

"Eh? Is that so?! I never heard of it!"

Kirika's expression could probably brighten an eclipse – her smile was far more genuine, and it reminded Julis of a little girl who had just been given a new toy.

 _Well, I did say now is not the time for this discussion, so…_

"I can tell you more about it, if you survive this!"

Julis directed the rapier in her right hand at her opponent, and with that, the fireball launched itself. But much like before, Kirika didn't look alarmed at all in the face of her flames, she merely bent her waist and stood ready.

However, Julis knew now that the swordswoman had legitimate reasons to be relaxed – Kirika's speed was incredible. Dodging a direct hit of Amaryllis would be easy matter for her.

So of course, Julis had no intention of hitting her directly.

As soon as Kirika was about to move, Julis clenched her fist, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Explode!"

"…!"

Upon command, the fireball exploded into several smaller, but still considerably dense flame petals right in front of Kirika.

Even if it was difficult to make it hit directly, it would be impossible to dodge it if the fireball violently burst at close range. If caught in that explosion at point-blank range, Genestellar or not, she would not be able to move for a while.

Still, Julis wasn't completely convinced of her victory yet. The visibility was now lost due to the raging flame as well – it did clear up the fog, but the glasses Kirika gave her made them a non-factor – meaning she had to keep her guard up.

"Hum… not bad, princess."

Julis didn't even manage to respond to that sincere-sounding praise before the flame petals were suddenly torn up crosswise – revealing Kirika's figure in-between, unharmed by the flames as it went past her.

The swordswoman made a soft smile as she pushed the frames of her glasses upwards with the ring finger of her free left hand, as if it was her way of saying 'not enough firepower'.

She felt she should be more surprised, but at this point Julis had more or less accepted that Kirika was definitely not someone whom she could easily defeat. It was probably the 'Meteor Arts' which had cut her flames.

 _At the very least, she is above Lester in terms of threat level._

That obnoxious boy had very bad compatibility against her, but he was unmistakably a strong fighter. However, when compared to Kirika, Lester barely counted as a threat at all.

"…Hah!?"

All of a sudden, Kirika's cheerful expression suddenly disappeared.

Her eyes widened in a way that screamed 'fear' and her mouth gaped as if 'panic' took over her.

"Julis, watch out!"

Kirika's voice was less a warning and more of a shriek that startled Julis.

The swordswoman suddenly threw her crystalline sword blade-first – with a speed that resembled her own Longiflorum projectile than anything else, aimed toward her.

Taken aback, Julis found herself deflecting the incoming sword by reflex alone – the impact was surprisingly heavy, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Don't resist!"

Before Julis could even make sense of what happened, a hand grabbed her sword arm and forcefully tugged her body forward, causing her body to lose balance again.

"Wha– "

The next moment, Julis could feel the same hand had swiftly moved past her stomach and was now pressing against her right waist. The entire arm had firmly grasped her body, preventing her from falling.

Julis only managed to understand what was going on when she saw strands of white at the left corner of her vision. She tried to turn her head, but a mouthful of white hair prevented her from seeing anything.

Still, it made it clear that it was Kirika who had caught her body singlehanded.

"Y-you, what are you–"

*CRACK*

Julis raised her voice by reflex, but a loud cracking noise suddenly pierced her ears from behind, silencing her.

 _This noise…?_

It was familiar. The cracking noise – it was similar to the sound her Lux sword had made when it broke from being overused in training some weeks ago, but not quite the same.

More curious than careful, Julis decided to twist her body and turned her head the other way – to her right, to avoid Kirika's hair – to look behind her.

"This, this is…?"

Unconsciously, Julis opened her eyes wide.

Right behind her, there was a shield made of sapphire light produced by a bracelet on Kirika's right wrist.

Its shape was almost circular, large enough to completely cover both Kirika and Julis herself from head to toe despite their position. Her suspicion was true then – Kirika hid her Luxes under the sleeves.

But that was not the only thing Julis noticed about the shield.

It had several cracks running across its otherwise smooth feature, and she could see several shining arrows had pierced the translucent shield, albeit not completely – just barely, only enough for the arrows to get themselves stuck in the shield.

A few seconds later, the arrows suddenly faded away into particles of light before her eyes.

Julis instantly connected the dots. The arrows were not physical items either – just projectiles created by another Lux. Since they were separated from the manadyte, unlike a Lux blade, they would disappear into mana after a certain amount of time.

And they were obviously aimed at her.

 _Damn it… another one of those ambushes?_

It had been a while since stalkers had tried to ambush her like this. Being a Page One, this was hardly unexpected.

Julis thought the dense fog around them would prevent ambushes like this, but it seemed that was just wishful thinking.

 _Come to think about it, if someone wanted to find me in the fog, they merely need to pay attention to the light from my flames…_

But even for Genestellars, her silhouette alone would not be enough to aim accurately in this dense, mana-infused fog. That probably explained the number of arrows stuck in Kirika's shield – there were exactly a dozen – the culprit didn't want to take chances and miss.

Whoever it was, they wanted to injure her no matter what. The stalker had been watching her and Kirika's duel since earlier – probably since the beginning of the duel – waiting for an opportunity to attack her with these arrows.

The thought made Julis frown.

She was reluctant to admit it, but because her attention was focused to the duel, that plan would have completely succeeded… if Kirika hadn't decided to halt their duel and save her.

A relieved sigh stopped her train of thoughts.

"That was close… are you alright?"

In tandem with her gentle words, Kirika's arm loosened its grip on Julis' body, and the damaged shield from her bracelet Lux faded away into light.

Julis caught herself from falling, and stood upright behind the swordswoman's back before answering.

"I am fine. More importantly, that was-"

"Definitely an ambush, targeting you. No wonder you were suspicious of me this morning."

Kirika cut her off with a strange tone in her voice.

 _What…?_

Julis blinked. Kirika sounded different - there was something about her voice that made her feel something like a shiver.

It took her beating heart to realize that it was pure, unadulterated anger.

* * *

 _I_ _ **knew**_ _things were going too well._

If Kirika was being honest, the cynical part of herself had been expecting something like this to happen the instant she saw Julis summoned those 'longiflorum' flame spears.

Fog wasn't the best choice to conceal someone who mainly used fire.

Still, she had hope – that somehow, by chance, her duel with Julis wouldn't be interrupted. The princess was far more interesting than Kirika had expected before the duel.

Straightforwardness. Earnest nature. Confidence. An appreciation of beauty. Quick thinking. Creativity. And of course, knowledge of flowers.

Kirika could see quite a few things about Julis. And she had to say, she liked what she got to see.

 _But of course,_ _someone just had to interrupt it._

She couldn't say she had expected anything else, though.

This place was a playground of corruption, where wishes were granted by crushing others, after all.

There were many ways to do so, and an ambush in the middle of a duel was simply one among many methods.

It was despicable, and it would be accurate to say 'as expected of Asterisk'.

 _So… why am I so mad?_

Things like these were going to happen, sooner or later. It was only natural.

There was no reason for her to be angry when nature was simply running its course.

But the tension in her nerves, the pain she felt from her clenched hands, and the restlessness in her prana–

 _I am definitely angry._

And she didn't understand exactly why.

She had a few ideas, but at the moment Kirika didn't want to psychoanalyse herself.

 _The self-reflection could wait. Right now, what's most important is, Julis isn't hurt._

Normally, Kirika would check Julis' condition first, but since the princess had said she was fine, there was no need to.

In other words, she had free reign to hunt down the ones who were responsible for her current mood.

 _It's a little nostalgic. It's not often I feel like this… might as well make good use of it._

Her lips curved into a soft smile – no, it was probably a merciless smirk – despite herself.

"I'll go after them. I won't let them get away with this."

To speak in such a contemptuous, disgusted tone actually felt fairly refreshing. Kirika made a mental note to remember it.

Now she should go-

"Wait!"

Julis suddenly raised her voice, and Kirika halted.

The princess had caught her left sleeve.

Kirika was a little surprised. Did Julis have something to say?

She turned around to face the princess.

"What?"

That… came out more antagonistic than Kirika had intended.

Julis flinched at her tone; the princess now wore an expression resembling a mixture between surprise and concern.

"You… really are angry."

The astonished way Julis said that confused her a bit. They shouldn't be distracted. The ambushers could possibly attack them again.

Still, Kirika should at least address her comment. In a calmer manner, this time.

"Any reason I shouldn't be?"

Julis shook her head as soon as her question was finished.

"That's not what I meant. I am just not expecting it. In any case, don't waste your breath with chasing them, this time."

Kirika narrowed her eyes. That was not helping her mood at all. What was this girl saying?

 _You don't have the right to decide that, princess._

A constant frown had always been Kirika's default expression – it came rather naturally to her face, for some reason.

However, scowling only felt real to her when she was actually mad.

"Who are you to decide that for me?"

Kirika threw Julis a glare, barely concealing the raging emotion in her voice.

That, seemed to intimidate Julis. Almost immediately, the princess let go of her sleeve and backed off a step.

However, Julis stood her ground.

"Believe me when I say I'm speaking from experience. Once they fail to land a sneak attack like that, they will turn tail and run. Rats are difficult to catch when they put their mind into running away."

Her tone left no room for argument.

Kirika scoffed. She wouldn't deny that there was truth in Julis' words.

Yet that wasn't really enough of a reason to let despicable people get away scot-free. Not for her.

 _More importantly, why are you stopping me?_

Julis was the victim. If anything, the princess should be the one offended for being ambushed.

However, the more she thought about it – the more Kirika found herself agreeing with Julis.

 _Since… I don't really understand why I am mad, either._

Even though Kirika could come up with a few guesses as for the exact catalyst for her mood, she hadn't come up with a concrete conclusion yet.

Or rather, she didn't want to be thinking too much about it at the moment. Kirika just wanted to savour the feeling of being angry as long as she could.

It was nothing more than her own personal whim - clinging to her emotional burst while it lasted.

Even if Kirika liked it, she shouldn't allow it blind her from rationality. Julis had the point.

And on top of that-

 _Those eyes… they remind me too much of those two._

A sigh escaped Kirika's lips as she glanced at the concern and the determination which became one in those eyes.

Julis had a pair of irises filled with leaf-like green mixed with a faint hue of blue, which wasn't really something she encountered often.

However, all the same, the look the princess gave her was identical with the ones belonging to two people Kirika had come to cherish.

One was, Amagiri Haruka, her dear sister.

The other was, Amagiri Sakura, her late mother.

Kirika closed her eyes. She didn't want to peer into those eyes... they awakened certain emotions she didn't need at the moment.

The fact that Julis also looked similar to her mother when she was younger just made it worse.

It was probably why the princess could make her listen despite being, more or less, a stranger.

 _If that is the case…_

"I suppose there is no reason to risk ourselves getting hurt for something worthless like chasing out some scum who will eventually show up again."

Her voice didn't raise, but Kirika made sure to channel every last bit of her anger and venom into the last half of her sentence.

...It felt better than she had expected, to say it freely like that.

Kirika opened her eyes, expecting the princess to rebuke her for the less than polite choice of words.

However, against her expectations, Julis merely smirked – a little too viciously.

"On that point, I agree."

The look in Julis' face screamed 'I am going to pay back for this humiliation tenfold'.

It almost made Kirika chuckle. Was that aimed to the ambushers? Or was it aimed to Kirika herself?

 _I am more or less the winner, after all._

If the ambush hadn't happened, then while Julis was distracted by her thrown [Fallen Aurora] manadyte, Kirika had ample opportunities to determine how she would wreck the princess with her [Heavenly Mist Bright Dragon Style (Amagiri Shinmei Ryu)] – grappling moves.

Still, there was no reason to point it out, and it didn't seem Julis had any thoughts about continuing their duel. This duel had also served its purpose for Kirika, to observe Julis.

Since she didn't end up going after the culprit, there was no more reason to be around here. She supposed it would best to pick up her transformed weapon and return now.

"Let's return to our dorm, then. We cannot continue our duel like this, anyway."

Kirika glanced to Julis' feet, which were still decorated by the flame wings. Apparently noticing where her eyes were looking at, Julis let out an 'oh' as if she just remembered it.

The princess promptly dispelled it, and the flames dissipate into small sparks of prana. In the same breath, she deactivated her Lux rapier and stored it back to her skirt holder.

"I have no objections. But, are you okay with leaving that lake as it is?"

Julis pointed her thumb to the lake behind her back, beyond the fog, as she said that. It seemed she thought it would be trouble if it was left alone.

Normally, the princess would be right. If the lake continuously produced fog infused with mana with the capability of jamming computer signals, it could escalate into a large-scale problem that wouldn't be ignored by the school.

It was even more so significant on modern combat academies, which relied upon the network established by the main servers and the badges in order to monitor and organize the students.

But Kirika shook her head. That was not the case here.

"It's alright. To begin with, artificially-induced mana reactions like that would not last long unless I remain in contact with it."

Kirika had just catalysed the reaction which affected the flow of mana within the lake for it to produce fog, and without her as a metaphorical catalyst, it would only last temporarily.

Heeding her words, Julis' expression looked as if the gears inside her head were turning.

"Artificially-induced… do you mean, the mechanism behind it is similar to the way mana has affected our climate?"

Kirika decided to smile at her inquiry. That was both a very accurate analysis and a very welcome change of topic.

Since the Invertia, change of seasons had become unnaturally hectic. Even tropical countries could experience seasons which should only happen in subtropical geographies and vice versa; to say nothing of the everchanging intensity in those seasons themselves.

Her technique to create fog using bodies of water infused with mana was indeed using the same process as the process happening in the mana-concentrated atmosphere; more specifically, the process related to the water cycle.

"You could say that. Natural phenomena like those are several orders of magnitude larger in scale, however."

Even though Kirika said that, Julis opened her eyes wide in astonishment.

"Even if it's on a much smaller scale, to replicate the effect using only your own prana to control the water's mana… I suppose it is not impossible, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone with that level of prana skill. How did you learn it?"

Julis sounded both impressed and curious at the same time.

"We could talk about it…"

Kirika was all too happy to converse about subjects related to combat and training, but for now-

"…next time. Now I need to go back to the dorm, I still haven't seen my room."

* * *

The walk back to the female dormitory was surprisingly uneventful and silent.

Behind Kirika, Julis seemed to be content with silence as the two of them made their way through the still incredibly thick fog. The Lux glasses made them a non-issue, but it didn't seem to make the princess less careful with each of her steps.

Not that Kirika would chide Julis about it – not many Genestellars could feel comfortable when ominous mist shrouded everything around you, especially when it was infused with high concentration of mana. It would interfere with a normal Genestellar's senses.

Luckily for them, while the fog had covered the lake and the small forest behind the female dorms, it hadn't quite reached the front yard, and Kirika could practically feel Julis relaxing beside her when they reached the garden where they agreed on a duel earlier.

"I see the fog has thinned around here."

In response to Julis' comment, Kirika took off her glasses and neatly put it back to the casing inside her pocket.

As if on cue, Julis quickly did the same and handed her set of glasses back to her with her right hand.

"Here. Thank you for letting me use it."

Nodding to accept her gratitude, Kirika quickly took it from her hand.

"It is for our duel, after all. No need to thank me."

"Err, about our duel…"

Julis visibly hesitated, and her words trailed off.

It took the princess three seconds before she continued.

"Regarding just now, um… thank you. For saving me."

The urge to smile tingled Kirika's lips. Julis really was far from the prideful person she had suspected her to be this morning.

"You aren't going to count that as another favour owed, are you?"

Kirika half-expected Julis to reply in the affirmative, but the princess only let out a chuckle.

"I am not that rude. This morning, I dismissed you as a particularly odd stranger, so I handled it like that. But now that I have duelled you, I don't think it is appropriate since we are, at least, acquittances now. Friendly ones, at that."

Julis explained that in a matter-of-fact tone, and she even smiled in a somewhat proud fashion when she stressed the 'friendly' part.

 _Could it be… this princess actually doesn't have any friends?_

It was terribly rude to assume so, but considering her personality… in all honesty, Kirika wouldn't put it past her.

It was even possible that Julis didn't even have a partner for the Phoenix Festa yet.

After all, Julis was straightforward; so straight that the line practically bent over.

…With such a delicious prey, how could Kirika resist the temptation to tease her?

"Is it part of the common culture in Lieseltania to get to know each other better through duels? How spartan."

Kirika had intended her words to be a joke, but it seemed that it was only funny to one of them; Julis looked equal parts horrified and ridiculed.

"Wha- how do you even reach that conclusion? My nation is nowhere as barbaric as that! In the first place, aren't you the one who asked to duel me?"

Julis crossed her arms, and the pout in her face was basically screaming 'girl, not funny'. Her cheeks were even slightly puffed – not quite like a child, but definitely not like an adult.

Kirika had no idea that kind of comical expression could naturally form on Julis' face. It reminded her of a mochi - a Japanese rice cake which was often decorated to make cutesy expressions. Julis was honestly quite adorable like that.

Giggling lightly, Kirika opened her mouth, ignoring her complaints completely.

"May I pinch your cheeks?"

"What?"

Julis was only able to raise a brow to the sudden change of topic.

It seemed elaboration was needed.

"Your pouting face is like a mochi. No one should be that adorable at your age."

"A-ador-"

Faster than Kirika could even perceive, Julis reddened and cut herself off.

"I, I am not adorable! And what is a mochi?!"

The princess was approaching the 'too loud for Kirika's ears' threshold of volume, but she supposed that reaction was worth it.

Still, as enjoyable as playing with Julis was, Kirika supposed she should cut it short.

She hadn't seen her room yet, and her luggage – which was sent earlier through courier – would need to be tidied before evening fell.

Well, that and Kirika wanted to avoid being seen with Julis by the other students for the time being. Not while any of those students could be the stalker who had tried to injure Julis.

Considering the situation, it would be better if Kirika didn't make the rumors between her and Julis escalate by letting herself seen with the princess in the dormitories.

 _I guess I'll end this just like in the class, then._

For the twelfth time today, Kirika smiled. This time without any restraint, and only for Julis.

As Kirika had expected, it stunned Julis enough for the princess to stop mumbling and stare at her.

 _Just like this morning. Am I really that good looking? Or is it the smile?_

When Kirika remembered how Julis was always in a daze after taking a good look at her, it seemed both were the case.

Julis was naturally earnest, so taking advantage of her easily flustered nature like this was a bit mean, but Kirika didn't miss that chance.

"I will treat you to one, some time. See you later, Julis."

And with that, she turned and walked away, unceremoniously leaving the princess at the gate.

There were four seconds of silence before Julis yelled.

"Wa-wait! We are not done yet! Hey! Don't ignore me again!"

This time, Kirika outright laughed as she made her escape.

* * *

 **Done! How was the chapter? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!**

 **Sorry that the chapter had taken so long! There were several, unexpected, and fairly annoying obstructions in my process of typing this chapter.**

 **Two of the most significant ones I want to mention, is my lack of experience for writing combat scenes, and because I failed to schedule myself properly. Shopkeeping, trying to apply for a visa, and reading light novels took up most of my time.**

 **However, I don't want you to hold back in your criticism because of that, and I don't want to turn them into my excuse, either. Also, if it is okay with you readers, I want you to state your overall opinion for my OC, Amagiri Kirika, so far.**

 **Anyway, thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter" so far!**


	6. Act 1, Chapter 6

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Experience Evaluation**

* * *

"It is here, I see…"

Kirika eyed the door numbered 216 and the shiny new nameplate next to it, which had the Kanji of her name, as well as its alphabetical romaji reading 'Amagiri Kirika' written on it.

She resisted the urge to sigh. It was a little disappointing her room was placed in the second floor in a nine-story building.

If she had any say in the matter, Kirika would have preferred a room in the higher floors; that would at least allow her to enjoy the scenery offered by the Seidoukan Academy whenever she was in her room.

But no, her room just had to be placed near the ground level, and on the northern part of the building at that.

That meant her window faced directly behind the dorms, and that would only provide her with the scenery of a small forest – while that wasn't too bad, it did block the view of the park and the lake which would be far more pleasing to the eyes.

 _If this is the arrangement, I don't think I will enjoy this room very much…_

But she supposed this predicament was tolerable. To begin with, Kirika didn't plan to spend much of her free time in her room. Besides, she had more important things to ponder about.

 _About myself, about Julis, and about today._

Parting ways with the princess earlier was quite an amusing affair – after Kirika left her at the gate of the dormitory, Julis seemingly had enough of being ignored, played and brushed off. With all the wrath of an angry goddess, the princess had chased Kirika.

It was honestly to be expected, but it quickly escalated into one of the most thrilling game Kirika had participated recently, so she wouldn't complain. The female dormitory was an environment Player Kirika was not yet familiar with, and a place Player Julis knew inside out.

The situation forced Player Kirika to avoid being seen by large crowds of students to prevent more rumors about both Players. And the opposing Player Julis was a Strega with a strong tenacity and speed-acceleration magic among her repertoire.

These parameters were stacked on top of the fact that, Player Julis very clearly had lots of experience in tag. That much was clear from the number of times Player Kirika was almost cornered.

Player Kirika was 100% sure if she wasn't a Strega herself – Player Julis **would** have caught her. No questions asked. Her opponent was just that good.

 _It was a nice game of tag – no, perhaps it became a hide and seek by the end? Though I suppose my use of magic could be considered cheating._

A tiny bit of guilt wormed its way somewhere in her heart, but she tried to ignore it.

There was no doubt Julis was at the very least upset and annoyed with her sudden change of behavior. Before they reached the dorm's gate, they had been conversing in a fairly amicable manner for acquittances, up until Kirika decided to brush the princess off and leave as quickly as she could.

But that was done on purpose. If she was seen with Julis in the dorms, the rumors about their connection might escalate even further than it already did; creating assumptions which could paint a target on her back.

At the moment, Kirika's presence as a transfer student in the mid of the school year was already attention worthy. People already assumed she was acquainted with the princess of Lieseltania as well, due to their conversation in class.

If more students assumed she and Julis were even friendly with each other, then the culprit – likely not alone – targeting the Page One might have enough reason to target her as well, even for something as stupid as provoking the princess.

 _If my retaliation exposes my threat level to them, it will be harder to investigate my enemies._

Kirika had every intention to hunt them down, so it would be smoother if her prey didn't think she was a threat. Remaining beneath notice, or appearing inconsequential were basic principles for hunting.

And surprisingly enough, those almost always held true no matter what kind of hunting ground she was in. Perhaps that was why they were considered 'basic'?

In any case, Kirika honestly wanted to explain why she had to avoid Julis in the dorms. However, their surroundings might be infested with prying eyes and ears, which was why she hadn't done so already.

 _It shouldn't use it as an excuse, though. I owe her an explanation for the next time we meet. And I will apologize to her, as many times as it takes._

Kirika just hoped Julis wouldn't be too angry to hear her later. Although... if that did happen, she didn't really mind. What kind of friendship could form without any spice, anyway?

But that was that. She should not stand idly before her room any longer. With a quick movement, Kirika took the Seidoukan emblem on her school jacket's pocket and set it upon the door's electronic lock.

With a click sound, the machine recognized her ID and the door opened.

Inside… was bigger than she had imagined. It was the size of a ten-tatami room, and it was already furnished with a bed and a desk. Aside from a chair, no other furniture lay in sight; only her two bags of luggage.

To the left of the entrance, there was a door leading to what she assumed to be the bathroom, and ahead of her was a rather large window which would be more than enough to facilitate her jumping out of the room when she felt like it.

There was an interphone attached on the wall to the bed's right, and two switches on the other side. Probably for the lights and to sound an alarm; Kirika heard the female dormitory was equipped with alarms so any female student could alert the security for burglars.

All in all, it was quite plain, though that was probably to be expected.

Kirika took a few steps into the room as the automatic door behind her closed, and inhaled a deep breath. The air wasn't dusty at all, which meant the room was attended by cleaning service even though it had no occupant before she transferred.

… _I will check for any hidden surveillance camera later._

For now, Kirika wanted to-

"Uff…"

-throw herself to the bed, and relax.

Hitting the bed with a soft thudding noise, her line of sight shifted toward the room's ceiling in less than a second. Then, she felt softness across her whole body, forcing her to suppress a smile.

… _Comfy._

Sprawling her arms and legs, she tried to press the bed with her weight as much as she could with the awkward position she was on, but there was no creaking noise. That meant the bed was strong enough to completely support her weight.

Her body relaxed at the thought. Overall, this room was hospitable enough for her standards.

A perfect place for her to start evaluating about today's experience.

 _Now then… where should I begin?_

As of this moment, today's experience had exceeded most of her previous expectations and predictions regarding her first day in in the Seidoukan Academy high school.

Though in all honesty, that was not too hard. Kirika knew more than anyone else about the prejudice rooted within herself against the Integrated Enterprise Foundation and the Asterisk City; her opinion of them was not flattering, to say the least.

Considering how low her opinion of them, she had predicted at least half of her expectations about the Seidoukan Academy would be subverted. However, she hadn't expected them to be crushed so thoroughly.

Officially, today was the day she first moved to the Asterisk City. However, that didn't mean it was her first time in the artificial island – Kirika had been in the city for a while, though she wasn't able to get anywhere near the areas under the jurisdiction of the combat schools around the six corners of Asterisk.

She had only lived in the central parts of the city for about 6 months, but that was more than enough for Kirika to understand the 'atmosphere' of the city.

At first glance, it didn't look any different than a common metropolitan. The streets were always busy, activities continued non-stop all day long, and individuals paid no concern for anything which didn't concern themselves.

But that was simply the surface.

Members of mafia-like gangsters and other such organized crimes were visibly roaming certain streets at night.

There were entire districts dedicated as slums for the city outcasts, including criminals and illegal immigrants.

And of course, the intelligence groups of each combat school were crawling everywhere, straddling the lines of legality.

Kirika had to sigh at that thought. No wonder Haruka hated everything about this city.

However, while the very nature of this city was disgusting, it was not something she would dwell on. It was something to accept, and she should learn to work around these conditions.

What she did dwell on, was the fact Seidoukan Academy and the districts under its jurisdiction were very much filled to the brim with the beauty of nature.

She knew it was mere aesthetics and it shouldn't affect her evaluation of the IEF, but… but…!

 _Damn it. I love it so much._

The green, soft grass. The colorful, land-filling flower gardens. The vast and beautiful lake. The rich, dense trees. It made her experience here more pleasant than it otherwise would be.

 _And then there's the people…_

It was by far the most surprising aspect of her experience in this academy so far. Though Haruka would probably say 'there is nothing to be surprised for, Kiri' if her elder sister was here.

To anyone else, it might sound like a presumptuous thought, but Kirika knew her sister would say that, possibly word for word.

Haruka hated everything about the Asterisk, including its inhabitants, but she believed in the inherent goodness of fellow humans.

" _No matter how you deny it, you are part of the world. The present world is corrupt and ruled by greed… I won't deny it. But this same age gave birth to you and me. That means all is not completely lost, no?"_ \- Haruka once said with a smile.

And for this reason, Haruka wouldn't be surprised to find those who weren't swayed by the corruption of the present world.

Not even at the heart and center of this age – the Asterisk City itself.

Moreover, that kindhearted girl would take that fact as confirmation for her beliefs.

 _However, I am not my sister_. _For me, exceptions exist among humanity._

Each life was already unique by birth, a soul could always be distinguished from another.

 _But, there are those with such unique differences, they are set apart from the others in ways so exotic, even the most eloquent of poems would be hard-pressed to describe them. 'Exceptional' – that 's my label for individuals like those._

Such existences were few and far in-between among humanity, and they were not a credit to the human race; they were of a different order of humanity entirely. They represented what humanity should become, not what humanity could become.

Admittedly, Kirika had expected a few of these 'exceptionals' to reside in the Asterisk City. She just hadn't expected to meet one so soon, which was why the existence of Julis was both interesting and surprising.

Julis was the current first princess of Lieseltania – a member of royalty, albeit the royalty of a puppet nation controlled by the IEF. Although she and her entire bloodline were insignificant in the grand scheme of her things, her nation was not.

When Invertia came to pass in early 20th century, the region known nowadays as Lieseltania was hit by numerous meteors. As such, its land now possessed a rich amount of manadytes and Ulm manadytes, making it a target for the IEF branches to control and take over.

German in its entirety was managed by two IEF branches – [Solnage] and [Fraulenlob], the ones backing Le Wolf Black Institute and Allekant Academy, respectively – and they fought fiercely for the right over the vast amount of manadytes in Germanic lands a few decades after the Invertia.

Ultimately, they reached a compromise by building a nation managed by both branches, so both parties could exercise equal rights over the resources. The name of that nation was 'Lieseltania'.

 _A mountainous region bathed in snow… fitting for a nation of contempt and sorrow._

In the past six years, Kirika had visited Lieseltania on a few occasions. And she had to be thankful for those opportunities, since it was where she had learned more about German as well as the nation which made her learn just how exactly the IEF pacified the nations and the governments under its control around the world – pacification through money.

If Kirika was to put a name for her feelings toward Lieseltania, she would say it was 'pity'. To be subjugated by not one, but two behemoths to be exploited for the rest of its existence. Seemingly helpless, unable to change its course of fate.

She was under the impression the royal bloodline of Lieseltania was of the same opinion. Its current king, Jolbert Murray Johannes Heinrich van Riessfeld, as well as his younger sister, Julis Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld, would continue playing the scripts given to them by the IEF.

However, her discussion with the first princess before their duel had shattered that impression completely. Julis came to Asterisk for the sake of money, something which was by all rights already within her reach.

During their duel, the princess didn't face her as an enemy to defeat, but an obstacle to overcome. The redhead wanted to win, of course, but there was no drive in her movements and actions beyond 'I will defeat those who stand my way'.

Like a warrior princess, her approach to battle was methodical and well-thought out, without any need to show off or a desire to 'put enemies in their place'. When she was outsmarted or outclassed, she didn't falter and doubt her chances, but she simply pressed on against the odds.

Julis was focused toward winning the duel, no more, no less.

Through those observations, Kirika had ruled out other possible motivations. Self-satisfaction or personal greed; a hunger for more power; a need to prove herself; such things didn't cross Julis' mind.

The princess simply had a goal she needed, or perhaps only wanted, to realize no matter what.

Such an earnest yet firm mindset was a far cry from ordinary people in Asterisk – no, not just Asterisk. It was far from ordinary anywhere in the world of present time.

 _The world of present time renders people complacent… so long as it is convenient for themselves. But she, in a manner reminiscent of those 'exceptionals'… refuses to accept._

That was the impression Kirika had.

Perhaps Julis was not quite similar to the 'exceptionals' she was familiar with – she was able to gain a somewhat solid grasp of the princess through simple observations and a duel, after all. But her observations were not done, not by far.

Kirika wouldn't jump to conclusions yet. She did not measure her fellow humans simply through what was obvious to the eyes and ears. She would examine Julis' existence thoroughly until she had enough.

 _That reminds me…_

The student council president, Claudia, was also interesting, though for entirely different reasons.

Claudia was the daughter of Nicholas and Isabella Enfield, both of whom were high-ranking members in the IEF branch which controlled Seidoukan Academy, [Ginga] which meant 'Galaxy' in Kirika's mother tongue.

Her lineage alone would be reason enough to warrant extra caution on Kirika's part, and on top of that Claudia was also the student council president of Seidoukan Academy. Corrupted as the IEF was, they didn't practice nepotism – that meant anyone in a position of power was more than qualified for their position.

… _I should stop thinking about her for now._

At the moment, there were simply too many things to speculate about Claudia Enfield, and too little information. She had already come to this conclusion before dueling Julis, so there was no need to continue that train of thought for the moment.

"Huff…"

Kirika let out a satisfied sigh. She was almost done evaluating the essentials of today's experience.

All that was left was about herself.

Normally, there was no need to include self-reflection in her semi-regular 'experience evaluation'. But today, something unexpected had occurred.

 _My anger was drawn out to the surface of my feelings._

That, in itself, was not unusual. Anger was among the most basic of human emotions. Even if she rarely felt it, that didn't mean the times she did feel it somehow became something worthy of attention.

 _Anger from the likes of Julis is far more noteworthy and amusing._

Her own emotion was not something notable. The problem was, she couldn't understand why she was offended enough to feel it in the first place. No matter how she tried to reimage the interrupted duel with Julis in her mind, she couldn't pin out exactly **what** had pissed her off.

Anger, or indeed any emotion, occurred for multiple reasons, some understandable, some incomprehensible. However, strong emotions required definite, conceivable triggers. And her anger earlier was definitely strong, considering it influenced the flow of her prana.

While it was normal phenomenon for emotions to affect the prana state of Genestellars, for it to happen involuntarily required extreme emotional states. That meant she was, without any doubt, in a state of rage.

 _With that in mind… what things could piss off humans in that situation?_

…It probably wasn't because her 'sense of justice' was being wronged by the perpetrators.

She had seen humans commit actions far filthier, sometimes in much greater scale. She had personally experienced the small things and the big things; everything from unfair treatment, unnecessary antagonism, irrational hatred, being targeted and scapegoated simply for doing what was right, and perhaps more she couldn't bother to remember.

Yet none of those ever made her feel rage or indignation. Disgust, most assuredly. Annoyance, most definitely. But there was no feeling which resembled anger in any form – which, to the best of her knowledge about herself, was something natural.

After all, 'anger' was never her strong suit. Her specialty was ' **spite** '.

That didn't mean she was incapable of it, of course. Anger was a primal, basic instinct of sapient living beings. She was simply out of touch with it; which was why it was all the more important for Kirika to understand why this particular interruption to her duel with Julis made her feel so mad.

 _If not my sense of justice, then… what else?_

Was it because she didn't want to see Julis get hurt? A desire to protect?

"Pfft."

Kirika had to stifle her laughter. That was probably not the answer either.

She had no problems seeing **anyone** being hurt. Not the people she respected, not the people she cared about, not even the people she loved with all her heart. Not as long as she was sure they would eventually recover and grow out of it, anyway.

Life was never without misery, and it came in various forms. Suffering was an inevitable process in life, and while not all forms of pain were necessary, some of them were essential to forge the human mind.

Thus, Kirika believed there was nothing wrong in looking forward to seeing others suffer. That being said, that was no reason to actively inflict pain on others, nor would it excuse doing nothing to help others overcome their misery.

Conscience and desire existed within the human mind to limit one another. Such was her creed.

The sneak attack targeting Julis was definitely not counted among the 'necessary pain'. It was avoidable, it was intended to hurt her, and it was likely done purely to fulfill the needs or the desires of the attackers. Kirika had no reason to let it be.

 _In any case, the trigger is not my sentimentality, either. This is hard…_

Perhaps she was looking at it from the wrong perspective?

Should she compare the interrupted duel to the last time she was angered? Kirika didn't like to do that, since the past and the present should not have anything to do with each other apart from cause and effect.

One could compare their past experiences and a present situation, but one should not rely on these comparisons too much. That was how some became arrogant or pessimistic – allowing their past successes or failures affect their ego – and how others became chained to the past.

But seeing as there was no better option for the moment… she supposed it couldn't go wrong to try.

 _Before… I was angry someone stomped a flower I was observing._

Kirika could still recall the event with clarity–

 _Wait._

Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

 _The events… they are both very similar, aren't they?_

Both times, she was observing something.

Both times, she was satisfied with what she found, and had wanted to observe more.

Both times, she was interrupted by a third party that she honestly should have expected.

Both times, she became angry and had every intention to make sure the third party regretted the fact they were born.

The only difference was, she didn't get her hands on the third party this time around, since Julis had stopped her before she could even begin looking.

… _I think I get it now._

Previously, Kirika thought her anger was caused by her love of nature – she was naturally compelled to protect what she loved.

By extension, she would also exact fair punishments for those who tried to harm nature.

 _But that was not correct… not completely, anyway. It was only half the reason._

The other half–

 _I simply don't like being interrupted while I am enjoying my time._

…

"Ahaha!"

Kirika laughed from the bottom of her heart.

After all those psychoanalysis-

 _Turns out my reason to anger is so childish_.

Nobody in this whole world could appreciate their amusement time being interrupted, unless the interruption brought an even greater enjoyment.

This was a simple fact. It was nothing difficult to understand. Yet it took her this long to realize it. More than that, this meant she was basically overreacting the whole time. Childish was putting it lightly.

 _I really am no one special_.

Some of the 'exceptionals' Kirika knew would probably come to this conclusion in a heartbeat. Moreover, they would not even be affected by things as insignificant as a small interruption to their time.

But there was no point in comparing herself to them like that. Now that she knew more about herself, this self-reflection was fruitful.

 _I found another weakness of mine. Gotta work to fix it._

With that, Kirika supposed she could conclude her 'experience evaluation' for today.

 _Time to look for surveillance cameras!_

It was unlikely for such things to be installed within the student rooms, especially since it would be a breach of privacy of illegal degree. However, it wouldn't hurt to be too careful in regards to the IEF in general.

Still, it would be a little boring if she silently spent the entire evening looking for cameras which might or might not be in her room. She supposed that called for a few songs from her smartphone.

That would be a great way to pass the time; listening to songs from her favorite musical band [Apocalypse Diva] and investigating her own room at the same time.

 _This might be the only time I will earnestly enjoy myself in this room._

Kirika decided it was best to make the most out of it.

* * *

"Seems that I really lost her…"

Feeling more exhausted than her body really was, Julis let out a sigh as she looked around the dormitory cafeteria. Five minutes had passed after she last saw a certain whitehaired young woman, and there had been no more sign of her ever since.

It would seem she really had failed to catch Kirika.

 _Humph. So I guessed right about her._

By all rights, Julis should have caught her. She had been in this dormitory for about one and a half years since her 3rd junior high school, while the transfer student had only arrived just now. It was obvious who had the advantage.

Although Kirika's movements were incredibly fast – the swordswoman's physiques were definitely above her own – she had no trouble catching up using magic. Combined with her prior experience in tag, Julis was sure she had roped Kirika into the corner multiple times.

But for some reason, it never came to pass.

 _Twice. Twice I directed her to a dead end, only to find no one._

The first time it happened, it confused her enough to stop for a moment and turned back. After that, Julis had wondered if she was hallucinating, but a few moments later she found Kirika again near the stairs leading to the 2nd floor, and it almost threw her for a loop.

It was almost as Kirika had just teleported. However, after she cornered the transfer student again and disappeared for the second time, it was clear whatever had happened definitely wasn't the product of her own mind.

If anything, it had confirmed something she had been suspecting: Amagiri Kirika was a Strega. The rare breed of the Starpulse Generation, similar to Julis herself.

At this point it was just obvious. Kirika had quickly figured out her image for magical techniques in their duel earlier. And no Genestellar, no matter how exceptional, would be able to slip past her unnoticed without magic.

Fortunately, even for magic-users there were only a limited number of ways to 'disappear' and 'reappear' like what Kirika had done. Teleportation was the easiest answer, but Julis knew better.

To manipulate dimensions and cross vast distances from one point in space to another using magic was only possible in theory. The human mind was simply unable to comprehend the unseen fabric which made up the spacetime continuum, which was why no magic-user in history had been able to achieve it.

Exceptional as the transfer student was, Julis didn't believe even Kirika could pull it off. That left only two other possibilities.

To begin with, the magical abilities of Dantes and Stregas relied on their ability to consciously and subconsciously produce 'imageries' in their mind. Despite how easy it sounded, to mentally stimulate oneself like that was difficult, and for certain individuals, it might as well be impossible.

Julis herself had only succeeded with the imageries of 'flames' and 'flowers' – and that was apparently already considered exceptional. While Julis couldn't care less about what others think about her, it was fact her two images had afforded a wide range of magical abilities.

By their nature, just about any magic-user could project images with prana – or in other words, conjure illusions. Though most were only restricted to one or two images at best, it was possible to forge more complex illusions purely with the abilities one already had.

To use herself as an example, her image of 'flames' converted mana into flames. Flames burned through their light, and with light came a wide variety of colors. With training, Julis could create illusions of objects, simply by forming her flames in the shape and color of the objects she wished.

In other words, it was possible Kirika also had an imagery which allowed for complex illusions. Though false hallways or dead ends would not fool Julis, it was possible the transfer student had assumed a state of invisibility with certain illusory techniques.

The other possibility was quite a wild guess, but unlike teleportation it was perfectly within the limits of what Genestellars could do. Certain imageries gave Dantes and Stregas the magic to move through solid objects.

She knew it all too well. It was a spell commonly used by specialized agents of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation – spies, kidnappers and assassins. Being the royalty of Lieseltania had given her a few unfortunate opportunities to meet them in person.

The thought made Julis frown a bit. Even if her brother was technically the one in charge of them – the loyalty of those unscrupulous individuals belonged only to the IEF. Regardless of their loyalty, the very fact they were around her home left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Julis shook her head to brush the negativity aside. Nothing could be done about it now, and she was not in her home now, anyway.

From the two possibilities, it was far more likely Kirika had the former rather than the latter. If the transfer student was able to phase through solid objects, then she could have escaped easily by simply phasing through the ceiling or the floor, and there would be no need to go to the stairs.

… _Honestly._

The thought of Kirika using illusion magic to hide from her greatly annoyed Julis.

But at this point, she just felt tired. The fatigue wasn't even physical, it was purely mental.

Julis still intended to interrogate Kirika, though. She had every intention to find out the girl's true intentions behind their interactions together, and she would not drop this matter until she received answers.

At first, Julis had not intended to pursue the topic that way – she wanted to demand answers by winning their duel, courtesy of the favor Kirika would owe her by that point. But their duel was interrupted, so she supposed the answers could wait until the next opportunity.

However, after their last conversation… to say Julis was offended by Kirika's behavior was putting it lightly.

Certainly, the transfer student paid attention to everything she had to say whenever they conversed. And clearly, the swordswoman acknowledged her enough to duel her in complete privacy, even going as far as to temporarily sabotage the school's rules and equipment.

And yet, after all of that, Kirika then tried to avoid her.

The duel had cleared up a few things for Julis. Like the fact that the apparent emotionlessness and apathy Kirika had displayed before their duel was simply a façade, and that there was… an interesting individual underneath it.

For someone like her, who held absolutely no interest in forming relationships beyond the bonds she already had, that was the highest compliment Julis could give for a stranger.

The feeling was also mutual. Julis could tell Kirika was also interested about her, and not in the ways most other students were – the transfer student had dueled her for reasons Julis had yet to understand, but it was different from the others who had challenged her.

Yet after the duel, it was clear through their conversation afterwards that Kirika was subtly, but definitely trying to avoid her. It explained why the transfer student suddenly brought up about mochi, commented she was… adorable, and had distracted her with a smile.

That last one was partially her own fault, Julis admitted. Kirika had simply noticed it. Since this morning, she had stared at the girl and lost herself in her thoughts more than once – Julis blamed that on Kirika's resemblance with Orphelia.

But that only served to reinforce her point. Kirika was observing her closely enough to notice even small details like that, and now this same person suddenly tried to avoid her, without any apparent reason at that.

Julis didn't understand why – and she was not happy with that, to say the least. And she was not going to be ignored or dismissed again.

Thus, the chase had ensued. It felt more like a game and another duel, however – one which she lost.

It was a little frustrating, but it couldn't be helped. If Kirika could cast illusions and became invisible, Julis had little chance to corner her, even in an advantageous environment.

That being said, there was no reason to rush and interrogate the transfer student right away. Unless Kirika didn't plan to have dinner, she would eventually appear in the dormitory cafeteria.

Even if Kirika didn't appear or if the cafeteria was too crowded for them to have a private conversation, Julis could always confront the transfer student tomorrow in the class.

She had to ensure their privacy, of course. It was shameful to be lectured about attention - a subject she was all too familiar with - in her own language no less. That was a mistake she wasn't going to repeat.

Julis was more than a little upset with Kirika now, but she would at least respect the transfer student's avoidance of attention.

 _Unless she tries to ignore or avoid me again, that is._

In which case, Julis would go through the crude but effective solution invented by humans ever since the ancient times; 'violence solves problems'.

* * *

 **Long time no see, how is the chapter? Share your thoughts in the reviews!**

… **I am ashamed. I have no excuses. Half a year without an update? Even if I had college? This shouldn't have happened.**

 **Yet it did. I tried, I really did, but clearly, my best isn't enough and my ability to manage time leaves a lot to be desired. But eh, I want to update at least once before the year ends.**

 **It is unfortunate I wasn't able to make a double update – I originally intended to update both Asterisk Winter and the Date a Live fanfiction Alternate Reincarnation before the year hits 2019 – but it seems it is just wishful dream on my part. At least, do enjoy this one.**

 **Also, I wish to address the issue which seems to concern a few of my readers: since Kirika is a young woman, how is the harem going to work? Well, I shall answer that.**

 **Almost all, and I am emphasizing here, NEARLY EVERYONE of the characters will retain their sexualities, so almost none of the Asterisk girls will end up being attracted to Kirika.**

 **The only ones I could really see being closet lesbians and engage in yuri activities are Saya Sasamiya and Sylvia Lyyneheym, and even those two are arguable.**

 **Still, Kirika being female does open up avenues for the boys, but you might or might not be interested about them.**

 **As such, I wish to request you readers to share your thoughts specifically about Kirika and romance; what kind of romance you want to see have, and with whom, assuming you want any? If you think it is still too early to judge since you are not very familiar with Kirika's personality yet, that's fine as well.**

 **That's all I want to say. Now, thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter"… Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!**


	7. Act 1, Chapter 7

**Act 1**

 **Start of a Study Case**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Out of the Blue**

* * *

If she had to put it into words, Kirika had a love and hate relationship with the human activity known as sleeping.

On the 'love' side of things, it was only natural for living beings to enjoy moments of rest.

The wonderful feeling of being able to close your eyes, knowing there was a day you could name 'tomorrow' once you woke up...

It was a pleasure not many would recognize as pleasure, much less appreciate.

Kirika knew better. She knew exactly how pleasant it felt, the simple joy known as a good night's sleep.

However, on the 'hate' side of things…

She almost always dreamt, and her dreams were more often than not **extremely** lucid.

Even now, she found herself lying on her back in the midst of somewhere which was definitely not her bed.

She didn't need her eyes to know where she was. The unnaturally vivid sensation of the grassy ground on her back told her enough.

 _"Welcome back, Kirika. Would you please stop pretending to sleep and wake up?_ _"_

…And that achingly familiar voice made her sure beyond all doubt that this was, in fact, a dream.

" _Go away, ghost. I don't want to be bothered tonight."_

Kirika already knew what the ghost wanted to do with her. She had done it already, and she didn't want to repeat it.

Though… just hearing that voice alone was enough to bring her joy, to be honest.

 _"Ha…_ _If you are not being honest, I_ _am really going to haunt you, you know?_ _"_

Really? Of all the things it could threaten her with, that was its first choice?

The threat was empty, Kirika knew. The ghost really couldn't do anything if she ignored it.

However, she would never entertain the thought of ignoring it. To ignore it… would mean denying a part of herself.

Kirika opened her eyes, taking in the vast canvas which unfolded before her eyes – the night sky.

Or at least, her memory of one of the countless night skies she had seen, as formed by her subconscious preference.

" _I am coming…"_

Halfheartedly, Kirika pushed herself up to a sitting position.

In front of her, the girl she dreaded to see was already clad in that damned familiar ensemble.

A girl with traditional Japanese white kosode and black hakama, neatly seated in a seiza position.

 _Haruka…_

To be honest, it was merely her heart's worst attempt to remember her beloved sister.

It was a byproduct of her subconscious. A phantom from her mind, representing her vivid memories of her sister, Amagiri Haruka.

 _Yes… that's all it is for me._

This 'Haruka' didn't wear the glasses, but it was still identical to the real one, the sister she parted with years ago.

Right down to the hair, the eyes and its gaze, the face and its expressions, the posture and breathing.

It hurt. Her chest ached just by looking at it. And this was supposed to be a dream…

" _Happy now?"_

Kirika tried to be sarcastic toward it. Yet, the apparition only smiled questioningly.

 _"You are asking me, of all things, that?_ _"_

She frowned. That response might be valid for anyone else, but for her, it was stupid. Incredibly so.

" _Don't act like you don't know me. You choose to bother me and act like you are real, so at least play along all the way through."_

It was probably the driest and laziest tone she had ever used in her life.

 _"Fufu, I suppose that's true. Alright, I am plenty happy that you do listen to my empty threats._ _"_

The voice was so soft, the smile so gentle, the gaze so sincere that she had to consciously remind herself that this was a dream.

How many times had she seen it in her dreams? Heard the ghost speak? Felt the apparition with her hands? Even smelt its fragrance? Kirika had lost count.

And yet, no matter how hard she wished it, no matter what she did to it, she couldn't stop it from reappearing.

She didn't really understand how it came to be. It was true the prana of Genestellars was deeply connected with their consciousness – their mind and heart – a quality not known to many, called [Ghastliness].

The mental faculties of Genestellars exceeded normal humans for this very reason. In the same vein, the effects of mental disorders and traumas also affect Genestellars far more than they did for normal humans.

Perhaps because of her Ghastliness, her subconscious had recreated the people whom she held dear and near to her heart. After all, she loved to understand others, down to the very nature of their existences.

Yet, she wasn't sure if that was the answer behind her painfully lucid dreams. Even now, after years of studying about her dreams and Genestellars, all she could do was theorize an answer.

Kirika did know a single truth, however.

" _I miss you."_

This alone was the one absolute certainty within this dream.

The only reply she got was a ghost of a smile, though.

 _"Today seemed quite fun for you. Do you want to talk about it with me?_ _"_

Kirika didn't even think twice before she shared her experience today.

* * *

"Ugh…"

A moan escaped her lips as she struggled to open her eyes.

 _This feeling… I am on the bed?_

The soft sensation across her whole body was no longer grassy like in the dreamland.

 _That means I am already awake…_

As usual, she could still remember her dream very vividly, but it always blurred somewhat whenever she was about to wake up.

Oh well, the dream wasn't that important. Kirika had experienced it more times than she could count for 6 whole years.

 _Last night's dream isn't really noteworthy as far as my dreams go..._

In the end, all the ghost wanted was for her to do things she would have done if her dear sister was with her.

Though the ghost gave out its own opinions regarding yesterday's experience evaluation, it was ultimately only what her subconscious felt would be her sister's answers.

In other words, Kirika was merely exchanging opinions with herself. It was simply her own version of mental gymnastics, albeit at a level deeper than most people could do.

 _Yes… that's all there is to it._

The dream only amounted to that. No more, no less. In any case, now that she was awake-

 _Time for my daily exercise!_

Kirika felt a bit more worn out than she should be after a good night's sleep, but this was nothing she hadn't endured before.

First, she would do some stretching; then a jog around the school grounds for the warm-up; and finally, a little combat practice – sadly by herself – before the sunrise.

But before any of that, she needed to change first. Her loose and soft pajamas were not the best outfit for training.

Kirika supposed it was time to test the comfortability and the freedom of movement her school uniform provided in combat – through her daily exercise.

After all, she was expected to fight duels while clad in those uniforms, so she had to test their endurance to strain, capacity to absorb sweat, and flexibility.

Her duel with Julis had given her a bit of an idea about the uniform's quality for combat, but their duel was interrupted long before she could finish testing it.

 _Let's hope they can at least survive my training without damage…_

* * *

'The darkest times of a day are before the sunrise' the saying went.

The saying was why Kirika generally began her exercise at around 4 in the morning, hours before the night's reign would end.

It was very cold and very windy – the winter season had just begun, after all, and the sun was still far from the horizon. However, it really, really felt just right for her.

The tickling sensation of the chilly air on her exposed hands and thighs was truly something she could never get enough of.

Compounding that, the Seidoukan Academy was truly vast – Kirika had started her jog half an hour ago from the female's dormitory, and yet it was only just now that she had passed the male's dorms, which was at the opposite end of the school grounds.

 _Granted, I am only jogging, but still_.

She couldn't help but notice that the male's dorms were decidedly… plainer in design than the female dorms, though. It just looked like an ordinary, if a bit large, Western hotel.

Why would that be the case? Should she add 'sexism' as another reason for hating the Integrated Enterprise Foundation now?

 _It's not funny, even as a joke…_

The urge to scowl tingled on her lips, but she suppressed it. It was pointless to fret about it, much less let the thought affect her in a negative way.

She couldn't afford to be distracted… especially not when someone was stalking her, again.

 _Hum… he certainly tries harder compared to yesterday…_

It was the same [Shinobi] who had followed her when she entered the school grounds without permission just a day ago.

… _But not good enough. Still, this is fun~!_

Kirika didn't allow her lips to form a smile, but she was tempted to.

Yesterday, the Shinobi had done a fairly good job at concealing his presence; maintaining a reasonable distance, moving with no noticeable noise, and suppressing his prana so well, he wasn't leaking even a drop.

Genestellars naturally leaked residual prana within their system into the surroundings, and this residue quickly contaminated the mana in the immediate vicinity. Thus, it could be felt by both Genestellars and mana-sensitive detectors.

To suppress one's own prana system and prevent prana leakage required intensive training and meditation. It was also important for assassins to suppress them, as mental processes contained within prana – such as killing intent – could be felt by opponents.

Too bad for him, Kirika could still smell a human's odor, which was all too easy to notice as it stood out from the smell of soil, water, grass, trees, and the atmosphere of winter. The Shinobi clearly hadn't taken countermeasures to hide his fragrance.

But it seemed this Shinobi was one who learned from his failures – this moment, Kirika couldn't smell anything but herself and the nature around her. The fact this Shinobi even managed to realize she was smelling him was enough proof that he was top-class.

 _Excellent in skill and intellect… but still lacking in experience._

Perhaps because he got overconfident after fooling her olfactory senses, the Shinobi had made the crucial mistake of getting too close.

Entering the hearing radius of a practitioner of the [Amagiri Shinmei Ryuu] was the height of foolishness.

This Shinobi obviously didn't know the secret art of the clan, which proved he didn't do enough research about his target.

 _Though if this guy is who I think he is… I suppose it is only natural._

Perhaps it was time to call him out. Halting her steps, she turned her head slightly to the right.

"For a shadow, you are not doing a very good job at faking your existence."

Hearing herself back in her natural, smooth Japanese pronunciations and accent felt quite refreshing, if Kirika was being honest.

 _If only there are more Japanese-speaking people around…_

"…Kuh, you really are quite something."

Unless it was a really, really good voice changeling, that lighthearted reply all but confirmed that it was really him.

From one of the trees lining the right side of the stone path she was on, a silhouette came out and landed on the path, about 7 meters behind. She turned around to face him.

It was a male student, that much was clear from the jacket he wore, but otherwise he didn't wear an uniform; instead, he wore a green hoodie under the jacket, and a grey trouser with a knife holster at each thigh.

He was tall – exactly a head taller than her – and his eyes were hidden by the hood he wore, but she wouldn't miss the inches-long scar left by a blade on the lower part of his left cheek.

She had met him several times before. The one who had scouted her, and thus indirectly responsible for Claudia's invitation for her. A fellow Japanese, something which was sorely lacking in her list of acquittances.

"Shirou-kun."

Honestly, Kirika was quite fond of him. A part of her wanted to stop speaking in her usual monotonous and emotionally restrained manner… but another part felt it was not needed, so she kept her voice calm and without emotion.

Regardless, he took off his hood in response, revealing a youthful face and playful eyes adorned with brown irises as well as hair bangs whose color were identical with the irises. The boy's expression was quite childish, but at the same time, his stature seemed mature.

The mismatched impression he gave was probably cultivated on purpose to make it more difficult for others to analyze him.

"Yo, Amagiri."

His reply was far more cheerful than hers, but it made her mood drop slightly.

"Don't call me that." She frowned. "I think I have made it quite clear I don't want you to call me with my surname."

Kirika had many reasons for demanding that, but it was mostly because her clan always referred to each other with first names.

It was a bit childish, but she held no shame in that – after all, she had always used the rather childish pronoun 'boku' too.

Now that Kirika thought about it, she tried using 'ore' like Shirou-kun once, but it simply didn't fit her tongue.

Shirou-kun grinned. "Hey, even I get embarrassed if I use your first name so freely."

 _Really? You, of all people, getting embarrassed?_

If that wasn't a joke, Kirika didn't know what was. She was sure he was calling her by her surname purely to mess with her.

But if that was how he wanted to play…

"Not as embarrassing as getting caught stalking again, I take it?"

Her barb was right on the money. His smile didn't falter, but his eyes betrayed his frustration.

"Yeah, about that. How do you keep finding me? Yesterday I finally figured out you can actually sniff me, so I put the effort to erase my smell, yet you still find me like it's nothing."

Ahh~ the hints of frustration within those words were delicious. Well, Kirika wouldn't answer him, but she would still praise him for what he achieved.

"It's already impressive that you managed to notice I have been sniffing you out, so why don't you figure the rest on your own? After all, you are a brilliant Star shining within the Shadow of the Galaxy Star Hall."

It was her own way to praise him, and as expected, Shirou-kun understood the meaning instantly.

She didn't expect him to sheepishly rub the back of his head, though. That was surprising… perhaps he really was capable of being embarrassed, after all?

"Using their names as metaphors, I see." He chuckled lightheartedly. "I'll take that compliment. At least your wordplay is better than the President's."

Kirika laughed internally. It seemed Claudia really was bad at wordplay, considering even her subordinate was mocking her for it.

Though personally, Kirika felt it was not well thought out. The Shinobi in front of her – Yabuki Eishirou – was a member of the [Kageboshi], meaning [Shadow Stars] in her mother tongue, the intelligence and espionage organization of the Seidoukan Academy.

In accordance with their theme, the name 'Seidoukan' meant 'Star Hall', and 'Ginga' meant 'Galaxy', both names belonging to the academy and the IEF branch controlling the academy respectively, so it would only make sense their espionage organization was named like that.

With those meanings in mind, what Shirou-kun called 'wordplay' was really just her being overdramatic.

Kirika meant her every word for him, though. She described no more than what she could see, after all.

But those were trifling thoughts at the moment. Although it wasn't unwelcome, why was he here?

"Why are you stalking me again?" Kirika tilted her head slightly to the left. "Do you really have the luxury to stalk me all the time?"

"As if!" He sounded a bit offended. "I am up early for the same reason as you. But when I saw you pass the dorms, I figured trying to sneak up to you would be tougher than my daily practice."

That was a fair assessment, Kirika supposed. To a certain extent, the harder the training, the better the results.

Not to mention, despite his excellent skill and repeated attempts, Shirou-kun hadn't succeeded in tailing her without being detected so far. Using her to train wasn't a bad idea.

His thought process also gave her a wonderful idea of her own.

"If that's the case, do you want to train with me?" Kirika offered casually.

Shirou-kun widened his eyes for a second, before a grin formed on his lips. That was good; it meant he understood what she meant.

The Shinobi's relaxed posture was gone, and he bent his body and knees, ready to make a dash or a jump toward any direction he wished.

Despite that, his smile didn't fade. "Sure! I haven't sparred with anyone tough in a while. You will make for a good bout."

 _Good! That's very good!_

With this, she could have a proper combat practice today. It was also a good opportunity to train with a real, actual Shinobi.

Not to mention, 'fights' were one of the few occasions where she could express herself freely…

Now that she was about to spar, Kirika allowed a slight smile to grace her lips.

 _This should be fun._

For an instant, she slowed her breathing-

*CLANK*

"Whoa…!"

 _Ah, it's blocked._

Her blade only met his blade, not his flesh, despite Shirou-kun's squeak of surprise. Kirika couldn't help but hum in admiration.

She had formed her short blade directly on her left bracelet without detaching it, and closed the distance in a blink. And yet, the Shinobi still managed to draw his tanto-type dagger Lux and block her swing splendidly with both of his hands.

The force of her attack was more or less even with the strength of his defense. She couldn't overpower him with a simple backhanded swing, it seemed.

A second later, wind resistance from the sudden stop of her blitz caught up to her. It ruffled her long hair a bit, but she could still see both the beautiful sparks dancing out of their clashing mana blades… and the goofy grin forming on the face of her opponent.

"…You know, are you sure you are not a Shinobi? Even this close, I can't sense a drop of prana from you."

Kirika resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

 _Are you praising yourself? I can't sense yours, either._

Shirou-kun's hands were trembling from the force of their stalemate, yet his tone remained as playful as ever. Well, she would admit that his casual attitude in the face of danger was praiseworthy.

"Shadow is your playground. I play somewhere else."

Kirika didn't elaborate more as she drew her left hand away from his tanto and stepped back, causing the Shinobi to lose his balance and stumble forward from his own exerted strength.

Not missing a beat, she prepared herself to land her right fist on his jaw – as if. Shirou-kun was about use his 'substitute technique' after this.

As expected, the form of the Shinobi in front of her faded to nothingness, and all she caught was his Seidoukan jacket.

There was no need to look: she knew the cheeky ninja had moved behind her. That simple yet creative combo of 'illusory' and 'sensory interference' magics was deadly in CQC.

But it was useless against her. At this distance, Kirika could hear even his heartbeat, his movements were only par for the course. There was no way she could miss him.

 _Let's give you a taste of your own medicine._

Without looking back, Kirika threw the jacket behind her and backflipped high into the air.

Within a breath, she was now two meters above the ground in an upside-down position.

Her feet were facing the sky and her face was staring down the ground… or rather, her opponent.

Not many humans were capable of quickly guarding the blind spot which was rarely exploited: above the top of one's head.

Knowing this, she calmly placed the blade on her left arm next to Shirou-kun's neck-

 _Ah, he will dodge it. Well, I hope you bite your tongue when you do_.

"Eh!?"

-And swung the blade halfheartedly by twisting her body.

True to her predictions, Shirou-kun managed to duck. Her blade still managed to graze his right shoulder and tore apart a small fabric of his hoodie, though.

As she landed on her feet behind him, her mind suddenly came up with a thought. Could she kick him in the literal ass?

… _No, I am too late._

Shirou-kun quickly rolled forward and out of her kicking distance, clearly not wanting to expose his back to her.

He then quickly got up and turned to face her with a stance, his tanto Lux on his left hand ready.

His smile remained goofy, but his eyes showed he was a bit disturbed.

"That strike just now… were you aiming to behead me or what?"

That made her raise a brow. Couldn't he tell with a glance?

"Shirou-kun, these are customized manadytes personalized for my use. Why can't I make their blade dull?"

To emphasize, Kirika grabbed the blade on her left arm with her right hand, and slid her hand throughout its entire edge – 50 cm from her wrist – smoothly, without bleeding.

He widened his eyes slightly. "You have been attacking me with a dull sword?"

She rolled her eyes. "You said this is a bout, not a duel to the death. Unless that's what you want?"

He shook his head, his eyes now relaxing. "Nah, a bout is a bout, I am just surprised. Now that I think about it, blunt edges would be nice for sparring. I'll get one of those after this."

A light smile formed on her lips again. "You don't need to wait."

Reaching for her right wrist, Kirika quickly detached the slumbering Fallen Aurora manadyte on her bracelet.

"氷魔 (Hyōma: Ice Magic) – 冷凍水眼 (Reitō Suigan: Frozen Water Eye)."

In English, the spell's full name would be [Mystic Frost Art] - [Frozen Teardrops].

Recently Kirika almost always called her spells in English and with shortened arias, so it felt a little strange to mouth a full chant in her mother tongue for once. But for some reason she felt like it... probably because of her opponent.

Magical techniques required perfect recreation of the imagery within one's mind, as such even their names had to be something which invoked subconscious reaction within oneself.

As such, it was difficult for most magic users to change the names of their spells, even if it was just changing it into a different language. It required exceptional conditioning and familiarity with multiple languages to overcome that barrier.

 _Not for me, though._

Kirika quickly poured her prana to the manadyte on her right hand, and in an instant, it had materialized into a tanto composed of condensed mana with similar design to the Lux in Shirou-kun's hand.

"That's…"

Shirou-kun was clearly about to comment, but Kirika lightly threw the newly made tanto in her hand to his direction to cut him off.

The Shinobi caught it perfectly in the hilt with his empty right hand, but his face was still confused.

"You are lending me this? I can't believe I am telling you this, but this means you are giving yourself a handicap, you know."

That was a neat analysis from him. She didn't need to be told about that, but it did show her that the Shinobi was knowledgeable about foreign fighting styles.

When her Fallen Auroras were still attached to her bracelets, her fighting style was similar to the use of the German Stoßdolch.

It was a type of daggers designed to be used with punches. Normally, such weapons were wielded in pairs, one in each hand.

That being said…

"The purpose of a spar are twofold, for self-improvement and having fun. I can't have you holding back because of a weapon which is too sharp for my skin, no? Now with that, you can hit me as hard as you like."

She could feel a smirk was forming on her lips as she detached the remaining manadyte on her left bracelet.

With her prana, it quickly transformed into her favorite weapon – the shard sword.

A 90 cm long, doubled-edged straight sword with a blade which became narrower the closer it was to its small, pointy tip.

Designed after the form of raindrops, it was her most favorite design among all the swords she knew of.

"Besides, I am a swordsman. Do you really think I would be less dangerous with one less blade?"

Kirika slowed her breathing again-

*CLINK*

 _Got him_.

The blitz was successful this time – she managed to knock the tanto Lux in his left hand away with a single upward swing from her right hand.

It was a mistake on his part – Shirou-kun blocked properly, but the force of her proper sword swing was stronger than a mere backhand.

Now he lost one of his tantos for that, and his smile finally faded.

"Shit!"

Her own amusement however, grew at that lapse of composure.

"Rejoice, boy."

The Shinobi replied to her proclamation with a quick thrust – aimed at her neck – with the tanto she gave him.

It wasn't hard at all to see through it, though.

*THWACK*

"…!"

Shirou-kun's eyes widened as the advance of his right wrist was knocked to the side, courtesy of her parry using her sword's pommel.

Kirika couldn't contain her smirk at she stared down her opponent.

"Your wish for a good bout is about to come true."

* * *

"Hah, hah, hah…"

The panting noise of Shirou-kun sounded more amusing to her ears than Kirika had expected.

Their bout lasted for about 30 minutes – it was quite long for a mere sparring match, but it seemed both of them had thought trying to beat the shit out of each other was more effective than their daily training regiments. At least, Kirika thought that was the case for herself.

With their dull weapons though, they had damaged each other's clothing more than anything else – the physiques of Genestellars did wonders for preventing common injury. The worst damage either side could take were bruises – either on their skins or their egos, likely both.

Her Seidoukan jacket were scratched in a few places on the sleeves and shoulders by her own blunt dagger she gave to him. She would definitely need to return to her dorm to use one of her spares.

 _It was fun, though._

The spar with Shirou-kun just now was definitely more exciting than the duel with Julis yesterday. Mostly because the Shinobi had more combat experience and better senses in CQC (close-quarters combat) than the magic-based fighting style of the Princess.

Kirika wouldn't go as far as to claim Shirou-kun was stronger than Julis – she hadn't sensed the bottom of their capabilities yet, so she wouldn't judge prematurely – and there were still the good-old compatibility issues to consider.

But, it was definitely true dodging the initial spells from Julis were easier than going toe-to-toe with Shirou-kun for half an hour.

By the time the Shinobi had requested for a break, the expression on his face suggested it was because he had too much fun after a long period of time without a good fight, and was now feeling lethargic, rather than true exhaustion.

Or at least, that's what Kirika assumed. After all, if Shirou-kun was time-pressed for a 'job', he wouldn't be casually sitting to her left side on this park bench, he would be leaving immediately.

 _Still, it's better to ask him directly, rather than assume things._

"Fuh…" A sigh escaped her lips. "How about it? Did you have a good bout?"

"It was amazing."

His reply was quicker than usual… probably because he was a bit tired?

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected nothing less from the girl who garnered the attention from both the President **and** the Princess."

An honest compliment, eh? Kirika would take it.

 _That reminds me. Now that I think about it…_

"Yesterday, why didn't you approach me in the class? Don't you have a reputation to keep as a member of the Newspaper club?"

As far as Kirika knew, the Shadow Stars were comprised of students with unique specialties or abilities which would allow them to excel in espionage and intelligence gathering. Thus, it went without saying their identities were guarded secrets, even for other Seidoukan students.

The only ones who were in the know of the identities of Shadow Stars would be their superior, the student council president – in this case, Claudia – and the esteemed masters of the entire school, the IEF branch Ginga.

Because of the secrecy, it was only normal for these students to carefully schedule their everyday lives to avoid suspicion. Blending in with regular students was the basic of the basics for the intelligence groups of any combat school.

In the case of Shirou-kun, he chose to become a member of the Newspaper Club – which was a very smart choice, in her opinion. After all, it was only natural for journalists to stick their nose where it didn't belong for the sake of sniffing out information.

That being the case, why didn't he take advantage of yesterday? Kirika knew Shirou-kun was in the same class as her and Julis.

 _In fact, his seat is directly behind mine._

A Japanese transfer student who was capable of fluently speaking in German was notable enough, but the fact that same student conversed with the popular princess from Lieseltania should be headline news in a school brimming with weirdos like Seidoukan.

 _So, why?_

As she stared at him, Shirou-kun shrugged exaggeratedly.

"It's true yesterday would have been a big scoop for me. But eh, I don't have a death wish. Did you see how angry the Princess looked like when she glared at you?"

'Who would want to get in the way of that?' went unsaid, but his expression told as much.

 _Is that truly the case, though?_

Kirika could think of a few people, herself included, who would happily play with Julis' temper. She was also somewhat sure Shirou-kun probably counted among that list, considering what she knew of his personality.

Most likely, this mischievous Shinobi didn't approach her yesterday because he wanted to see how the almost-volatile situation would develop to entertain himself.

 _What a cheeky boy…_

"However!"

His brown orbs met her blue ones as he exclaimed that.

"Today is a different story. I am sure the Princess has calmed down by now, so I will be asking you a few questions in the class later. Like you said, I have a reputation to keep."

 _Keeping up the farce, even though we already know each other, eh?_

That was a fairly amusing idea, Kirika had to admit.

"I suppose that's why you are still here? You want to go over the script of our farce in front of the class?"

"Eloquently put." The Shinobi smiled frivolously. "Though I wouldn't exactly call it a farce. You are already the topic of the class, you know? From yesterday alone, people are already talking about how you will become the second coming of the Princess."

That got her attention. "Does Julis dismiss the students trying to approach her the way I do?"

"Not like you do, but it's true she dismisses pretty much everyone. Since joining my class last year, she hasn't just caught the eye of others, many of them stirred themselves like a fanatic to become her supposed 'guards'." Shirou-kun seemed amused about it.

Kirika didn't even need to think about it. "I can imagine that all too easily." Her chatmate then leaned closer to her with a smirk.

"Want to know what she told them? 'Silence! I am not a work of art to be admired.' What a woman!" The Shinobi briefly mimicked Julis' accented English, before switching back to Japanese. "Talk about a feisty one, isn't she?"

"Again, all too easily imagined." Kirika let out a sigh. "I guess that response left some people unhappy?"

"Sharp as always. That completely normal response prompted several students to challenge her into a duel to force her apology, but the Princess handily defeated them, of course. Not too long after, she achieved a spot in the Page One."

So that's why Julis thought her popularity was strange. It was indeed quite odd to remain popular after all that.

 _It also pretty much confirms that she has no friends._

It was both quite amusing and a little pitiful. Kirika hoped Julis at least had friends back in her homeland.

"Gah, I am digressing." The Shinobi slapped his forehead. "My point is, you are quite popular already, so our first contact in the class will affect how the other students see you. I am here to ask how you would want it to unfold."

What? That's surprising. He would allow her to decide the script of their farce?

Shirou-kun was a carefree person, but he was still a spy working under an espionage organization. It was unlikely that altruism was his reason to propose this.

From what she knew of his personality, there were two possibilities – Shirou-kun was either ordered by Claudia, or he simply wanted to play with her, possibly even both.

It was well-thought out, for the intelligence agent who scouted her to grab the initiative like this… still, he got to try harder if he wanted to persuade her.

Not to mention… "Shirou-kun, you know I care little for how the public perceive me."

"That makes the two of us." His smile turned brazen. "But well, not many students had the opportunity to manipulate how the public perceive them through me. I am simply curious how the President's chosen will use that chance."

Kirika eyed him. Those words implied many things, but it most likely meant Claudia ordered this for the sake of 'testing' her, and Shirou-kun was intrigued by how it would turn out.

 _Troublesome fellows… now then, what should I do?_

The first option was simply to ignore this game. For as long as she could remember, Kirika couldn't find it in herself to care about how people perceived her. In other words, no matter how their first contact in class turned out, she couldn't care less.

The second option was to play along. It was a rare opportunity – after all, Kirika doubted she would ever transfer to another high school and receive another offer like this – and while there was no clear benefit from this endeavor, it wasn't like she had anything to lose, either.

But first, she wanted to test something…

"Should we kiss passionately in front of the class?"

"Buhhhh?!"

Shirou-kun made a sound as if he was choked by his own spit. Kirika suppressed a smile – what an amusing reaction.

"I am sure that would be another headline news, wouldn't it? Let's go with that and improvise from there."

"Now wait just a second!" Shirou-kun turned to eye her, his expression ridiculed and embarrassed. "What kind of scenario is that?! In the first place, it's supposed to be an interview!"

"You asked me 'how our first contact will unfold'." She deadpanned. "You didn't say it has to be an interview. Since we both already knew each other, we might as well turn it into a long-awaited reunion in high school."

She turned her gaze to the rough-looking lips of the boy beside her. It didn't take longer than a few seconds for him to notice where she was looking at.

 _Good. Let's see how you will react to this._

Forming a coy smile, Kirika blew a sensual whisper and slowly, meticulously licked her own upper lips.

Shirou-kun immediately shuddered, and his cheeks had the slightest tint of blush.

"I know I am the one who offered so I have no right to ask but I would prefer it if you don't use that script."

His tone was so panicked and he spoke so quickly that Kirika had to suppress another smile – so, Shirou-kun really could get embarrassed.

"Are you absolutely sure? Are you sure you won't… regret it?"

It was a good thing Kirika had mastered the skill to sound monotonous and playful at the same time, so she could use it for this.

Shirou-kun averted his eyes from her – or perhaps, just the lips? – and grumbled under his breath.

"Positive. Anyway, could you come up with something more rational? You sound like you are not taking this seriously."

 _I am being serious though?_

Perhaps he wouldn't believe her, but while she came up with this scenario in order to test him, and it's true she had come up with various other scenarios in her mind, if Shirou-kun had accepted, Kirika would have gone through with it.

 _It's just a kiss, after all._

Kirika knew it was an action which usually carried a lot of weight for most people, but she wasn't 'most people'. She simply wanted to know whether or not Shirou-kun was part of 'those people', and his reaction had given her the answer.

 _Too bad. It seems, in this small aspect, you are part of them._

Shirou-kun was not ordinary by human or even Genestellar standards, and Kirika knew this for a fact from their previous encounters and interactions. That was one of the many, many reasons why she found him interesting – and worth interacting with.

So, she wanted to study him more… but this result was a bit disappointing. If only he had refused in a way other than that basic response. It hardly lowered her opinion of him though, Yabuki Eishirou was still an interesting existence.

Still, that was that. For the moment though, she should answer him.

"To be honest, I don't really care about that. You are free to write your own script. However, if you insist for an input…"

She suppressed a giggle. Julis would be quite annoyed by this.

"Let me ask you something first. Did you see the unnatural fog around the female dorm after the classes ended yesterday?"

"Not directly. The Stars in the female dorm saw the fog and sensed its high mana concentration was unnatural, so they reported to the President. She dismissed the agents by saying it was part of science experiments, but both she and I know it's your doing."

Kirika smiled at the matter-of-fact yet casual tone Shirou-kun used. It was probably the tone he used when reporting to his superiors and Claudia. Unfortunately, that information meant not even the Shadow Stars knew who had attacked Julis, or even the fact the Princess was attacked.

With the fog Kirika set up, the only things people could see without her special Lux glasses were the lights of the flames Julis conjured, and thus the Shadow Stars would dismiss it as being part of the science experiment.

Claudia and Shirou-kun probably knew that the fog was actually set up to conceal her duel with the Princess, but they likely didn't know that a third party stalker had interrupted the battle by attacking Julis.

Lux arrows used by the stalker were glowing projectiles, but their lights were too weak to be seen through her fog.

 _Well, maybe Claudia knows… her Ogre Lux's specialty is predicting the future, after all_.

Claudia was quite infamous for being the wielder of the demonic twin swords [Pan-Dora] whose renowned power was to see into the future.

It was even possible the student council president already knew who the stalker was, but there was no need to give too much thought over what was hypothetical. There was no way to confirm it now either way.

Still, she had to confirm at least one thing. "Aren't you curious about the result? About the duel between Julis and me, I mean."

That phrasing would convey her question in an indirect manner. As expected, the Shinobi eyed her again, but with a wide grin on his face this time.

"Nope. I am sure you won. Even if you manipulate the impression to avoid offending her pride, lose on purpose, or pull off a draw, you are the true victor."

That straight answer confirmed her suspicion that Shirou-kun definitely didn't know about the duel being interrupted.

 _Though… is he flattering me, or is he that confident in my abilities?_

It was quite touching, Kirika had to admit.

"Thank you for your answers. Now then, here is my input: ask the Shadow Stars to spread rumors. The content will be 'I heard the transfer student duelled the Princess yesterday'. Once you see it done, ask about the rumor when interviewing me."

Shirou-kun widened his eyes, clearly surprised. The fact he didn't try to hide it proved he was stupefied.

"What? Are you serious? What good would spreading rumors like that do?"

Kirika stared him down. "That's for me to know, and for you to guess. Will you do it, or not?"

"Well… I suppose I have no reason to refuse," The Shinobi scratched his scarred cheek. "if that's all, I will do it."

Good. Now with this, one of the steps necessary to hunt down the stalker which dared to interrupt her duel was taken.

 _One of many…_

Now that she was done, there was no more reason to continue the conversation. Kirika had spent enough time here, anyway: chatting with Shirou-kun had been fun.

Kirika stood up from the bench, not bothering to look at him again,

"See you in class, Shirou-kun."

"You are going to continue your jogging, right? Have fun."

And with that exchange, Kirika walked away, leaving him alone on the bench with his thoughts.

 _Knowing him, he probably wouldn't give much thought to the input, though._

* * *

If there was any luxury in this world which everyone without exception desired, it was time. Whether it was to use it in moderation, or in a hurry, everyone wanted time.

Kirika personally preferred the former rather than latter, but personal flexibility had always been one of her strong suits. That was why she could wait until the last 3 minutes before 8 o'clock to enter the class.

Her break and conversation with Shirou-kun two hours ago had taken longer than she had estimated. Their spar ended sometime after 5 o'clock, but by the time she left the park to jog some more, she only managed to jog for a few minutes before the sunrise finally arrived.

And that was her cue to return to her room. Not just because of the necessity to change her Seidoukan jacket which were scratched and dirtied, but also to minimize the number of people who could possibly see or run into her.

As it was currently the winter season, ordinary Genestellars would start their morning trainings later than usual, most likely around the sunrise where the warmth of the sun would reduce the coldness of the atmosphere.

For the same reason, she had waited until the last few minutes to reach the class. It would minimize the time available for other students to approach her if she came just as the class was about to begin.

In truth, waiting until the literal last minute would be more better for that purpose, but in consideration of unexpected factors which could cause her to be late, she had arrived 3 minutes before the class began.

 _Besides, today is special… I need to talk with Julis, and apologize to her for yesterday._

With that in mind, Kirika calmly opened the white door of her classroom.

As expected, in the brief moment after she opened the door, the eyes of several students were upon her. Almost instantly, some of them began whispering – that was a bit surprising.

Considering Julis' popularity, if the Shadow Stars had spread rumors that 'the transfer student duelled the Princess', Kirika had expected to be swarmed and bombarded with questions. Could it be Shirou-kun didn't do his job?

Her sharp hearing quickly reassured her otherwise, though – she could hear some of them saying things along the lines of 'there is no scratch on her, did she really duel the princess?' and the like.

 _Great job, Shirou-kun_.

It was true that if the students assumed she and Julis were friendly with each other, then the stalker might consider attacking her. That was the very reason she had brushed off the princess yesterday, since the stalker might assume it was a spar between friends.

But it was a different story if the students assumed Kirika only came to know Julis through that duel – because then the culprit's next step would be to investigate first: learning the relationship between the transfer student and the princess of Lieseltania.

 _It is easier to hunt for preys which follow you around._

In order to investigate Kirika, the stalker would likely take advantage of their anonymity to interact with her and Julis directly. That would give away plenty of chances to find out who they were.

All in all, it was a much better scenario than if the stalker just assumed Kirika was friendly with Julis and thus decided to attack her to provoke the princess.

 _Speaking of the princess – let's see how she is doing._

And while she was at it, Shirou-kun, too.

Kirika could not see Julis and Shirou-kun from where she remained on the door, so she took a few steps in.

Her gaze then locked on the table right next to her own where Julis was, left cheek resting on hand, and then Shirou-kun, lying his face down on the table which was behind her own.

Not a second later, Julis' eyes met Kirika's, and her posture immediately straightened. The disinterest in her leaf-like eyes faded instantly, replaced with expectation. Kirika knew what she was expecting, of course.

With quick steps, she gracefully avoided the crowds of students, tables, and seats to reach her own seat.

As she passed by the princess, Kirika mouthed in English:

'Wait for the break.'

Almost imperceptibly, Julis nodded in understanding.

 _Phew… done. Now I just have to wait for the break…_

Mentally relieved, Kirika almost wanted to slouch against her seat, but she decided against it. Her surroundings might notice, and she didn't want that.

Now that she thought about it, Kirika recalled her surrounding seats – apart from Julis to her right and Shirou-kun to her back, the other seats were empty yesterday.

As for today though, there was someone filling the seat to her left side-

"…Eh?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She just... stared at the girl next to her.

For once, Kirika realized she could not stop her eyes from widening in shock.

It's… it's…

… _Saya?_

Impossible, Saya shouldn't be here... well, not really impossible, but… what were the odds…?

Memories practically blew her mind – she could literally feel her prana stirring to process what she was seeing.

A girl with a beautiful shade of Cerulean blue hair, reaching down to the shoulders and let down in a somewhat messy manner.

 _Just like Saya…_

Like Shirou-kun, she was fast asleep, her face lying down on the table.

 _Exactly what Saya would do in a class…_

Judging from the way her feet didn't reach the floor as she was seated, she was quite short – probably comparable to a middle-schooler.

 _Saya had growth problems… dear goodness, is it really…_

"Is it really you?"

Kirika didn't intend to whisper that, but it did escape her mouth anyways.

Then, the girl's head twitched, and she suddenly lifted her head as if something had awakened her.

Her pale, periwinkle blue irises met bright, scarlet red ones. Kirika could see her face reflected on those polished red.

 _There is no mistaking those eyes! You really are_ -

"Saya…"

Kirika couldn't even hear own voice...

"…Kiri?"

…But she did hear a soft, familiar reply.

* * *

 **How was the chapter? Elaborate your thoughts in the reviews! If you feel like the things this chapter shows are too strange or outlandish, just say so~ since this point is one of the 'divergence points' of my story** _–_ **therefore, the things shown here will determine future plot points and storyline.**

 **I am really sorry that again, the fic went without an update for about 5 months and 3 weeks. It's certainly true that college has now involved hospital shifts and I got tons of assignments (physical and digital alike), but still…**

 **But enough about my excuses. Let me address the topic which the previous chapter's author note had touched: romance.**

 **As I stated previously, Kiri is a young woman, and I am unwilling to change the sexualities of the majority of the Asterisk cast. I have also specified that the only women in the Asterisk canon which I could actually see falling in love with Kiri are Sasamiya Saya (Saya pretty much has a single-target sexuality) and Sylvia Lyyneheym (Sylvie is pretty open minded about many things).**

 **I will clarify that despite Claudia's character arc pretty much requiring her to fall in love with Ayato in canon, it is simply not the case here (for those who are not familiar, Claudia's background is revealed in Volume 9). Meaning, her character arc changes quite significantly.**

 **I also mentioned the fact Kiri is a girl opens up avenues with several male characters, and, to be honest, there are indeed several men which I could see forming chemistry with Kiri, including Yabuki Eishirou (helps that Kiri calls him Shirou-kun and they both are Japanese), and Ernest Fairclough (helps that Ernest likes strong women,** **ESPECIALLY** **swordswomen).**

 **For the sake of convenience, several boys who have girlfriends in canon (but only appears once or a few times and is largely irrelevant), like Shirou, will have their relationship purged out of existence if Kiri does end up with him. Poor them… though the fact they are almost never even mentioned in canon is a worse fate, in my opinion.**

 **Anyway, the previous request remains: I wish you readers would share your thoughts specifically about Kirika and romance; what kind of romance you want to see, and with whom, assuming you want any?**

 **Again, if you think it is still too early to judge since you are not very familiar with Kiri yet, that's fine , though I would prefer your answers sooner rather than later.**

 **In any case, that's what I have to say! Thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter"!**


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